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Despite the national security concerns being raised by the US, Australia has no plans to ban TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance.
The US House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bill that would force TikTok to divest from its Chinese owner or be banned from the US on Wednesday.
The legislation is a major setback for the video-sharing app, which has surged in popularity around the world while causing nervousness about its Chinese ownership and its potential subservience to the Communist Party in Beijing.
The bill passed 352-65 in a rare moment of unity in politically divided Washington.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the Australian government was not expected to emulate the US.
“We’ll take advice but we have no plans,” he told radio station WSFM Sydney on Thursday.
“You’ve always got to have national security concerns, front and centre, but you also need to acknowledge that for a whole lot of people, this provides a way of communicating.”
A TikTok spokesperson warned any changes made in Australia would impact 350,000 businesses and more than 8.5 million users, and welcomed the prime minister’s comments.
“Action being taken in the US is not based in fact,” they told AAP in a statement.
“We are hopeful that the US Senate will consider the impact.”
Opposition leader Peter Dutton has urged the prime minister to “show leadership” but stopped short of calling for a TikTok ban.
“Young people who are using TikTok are having their personal details collected — their images, their most intimate discussions,” he said.
“Whether that’s being collected either by a country or by a third party, the prime minister has to act.”
US national security at risk?
The warning shot against the app caught many by surprise as both Republicans and Democrats risked the wrath of TikTok’s passionate young users in an election year when the youth vote will be key.
“Today’s bipartisan vote demonstrates Congress’ opposition to Communist China’s attempts to spy on and manipulate Americans, and signals our resolve to deter our enemies,” Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said after the vote.
“This is a critical national security issue. The Senate must take this up and pass it,” No. 2 House Republican Steve Scalise said on social media platform X.
But the fate of the bill is uncertain in the more cautious Senate, where some are apprehensive about making a drastic move against an app that has 170 million US users.
President Joe Biden will sign the bill, known officially as the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act, into law if it comes to his desk, the White House has said.
“This process was secret and the bill was jammed through for one reason: it’s a ban,” said a spokesperson for TikTok in a statement.
“We are hopeful that the Senate will consider the facts, listen to their constituents, and realise the impact on the economy, 7 million small businesses, and the 170 million Americans who use our service,” the spokesperson added.
The measure, which only gained momentum in the past few days, requires TikTok’s parent company ByteDance to sell the app within 180 days or see it barred from the Apple and Google app stores in the United States.
It also gives the president power to designate other applications to be a national security threat if they are under the control of a country considered adversarial to the US.
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