Australian PM says no evidence of TikTok abusing user data
- There is nothing at this point that would suggest to us that security interests have been compromised, Scott Morrison says
- Building an Indo-Pacific alliance with like-minded nations will be a ‘critical priority’ for Australia, he told the Aspen Security Forum
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“We have had a good look at this, and there is no evidence for us to suggest … that there is any misuse of any people’s data,” he told the Aspen Security Forum meeting in Aspen, Colorado.
“There are plenty of things that are on TikTok that are embarrassing enough in public, but it’s that sort of social media device,” he said via videoconference, chuckling.
The difference with TikTok, he said, is “that information can be accessed at a sovereign state level,” a reference to Chinese companies’ legal obligation to share data with state intelligence services if they want it.
“But I think people should understand – and there’s a sort of buyer-beware process – there is nothing at this point that would suggest to us that security interests have been compromised.”
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But Morrison downplayed the immediate threat.
“There is no reason for us to restrict those applications at this point. We’ll obviously keep watching them.”
Nevertheless, he stressed that people “need to understand where the extension cord goes back to.”
In Australia, concerns mount that China could use TikTok to spy on users
“Today, the Indo-Pacific is the epicentre of strategic competition,” Morrison said.
“Tensions over territorial claims are growing.”
Australia last month said it would boost defence spending by 40 per cent over the next 10 years, buying long-range military equipment that will be focused on the Indo-Pacific region, where both Beijing and Canberra are competing for influence.
Must Australia choose between the US and China?
Morrison said on Wednesday China’s rise as a major economic partner has been good for the global economy, Indo-Pacific region and Australia, “but with economic rise comes responsibility”.
The prime minister said China and the US together have a “special responsibility” to respect international law and should resolve their disputes peacefully.
“It means a commitment to rules-based economic interaction. Neither coercion nor abdication from international systems is the way forward,” Morrison said.
Earlier, China’s ambassador to the US, Cui Tiankai, told the Aspen Security Forum that Washington’s move to force the sale of TikTok violated free market principles.
“There is such a degree of political intervention – government intervention – into the market, there is such discrimination against Chinese companies, and these companies are just private companies,” he said.
“To accuse China of not giving American companies a level playing field while at the same time they themselves are denying Chinese companies such a level playing field, this is extremely unfair.”
Additional reporting by Reuters
