Clock ticking on use of TikTok on government devices

Federal authorities face pressure to impose a broad ban on TikTok following reports the social media app will be taken off Australian government-issued devices. 

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is expected to issue the directive to politicians and departments after a home affairs review into the risks posed by the Chinese-owned app.

Media reports suggest the ban would apply to mobile phones and other devices issued by the government for politicians and public servants.

Concerns over TikTok relate to the potential for data to be harvested and accessed by the Chinese government under national laws that can compel companies to hand over information.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the government was considering national security advice on the matter but would not confirm whether a ban was imminent.

"When (the government) have got a decision to announce, we will announce it," he told Nine's Today Show on Tuesday.

"There have been bans in place now on government devices in a range of other countries but we are considering this and we will be making a decision in due course."

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, who has more than 100,000 TikTok followers, confirmed he would delete his account, but had not been briefed on the national security advice being considered by the Commonwealth.

He told reporters his government would follow the lead of its federal counterparts on matters of national security. 

A cyber security expert said the potential ban on official devices was a good move but flagged the public's use of the app should also be reconsidered.

"I do wonder whether or not there needs to be some broader action," CyberCX chief strategy officer Alastair MacGibbon told ABC Radio National.

"This is not around things made in China, as it's often depicted, this is an argument about things controlled by China. 

"There's a fundamental difference between normal electronics manufactured in China and electronics that are controlled essentially under the laws of Beijing."

Opposition security spokesman James Paterson welcomed the reports but said Australia was behind other countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand and Canada which had implemented a ban on government devices.

He said TikTok represented a serious espionage threat and wider action to protect the public should be the government's next step. 

"The data privacy and security risks and also the foreign interference risks that affect millions of Australians who use the platform are so far not yet dealt with," he told Sky News.  

"They have to be dealt with. Dealing with it on government devices is only the start."

The ACT government was notified on Monday of an "imminent announcement" from the federal government on the ban, a spokesman told AAP.

"Based on the Commonwealth's advice, and the desirability of national cybersecurity consistency, the ACT government will consider similar restrictions on territory government devices at a security and emergency management meeting of cabinet on Wednesday."