TVTikTok warnings
Ads to tell of data theft risk
AUSTRALIANS could soon see “inyour-face” TV ads akin to the 1980s AIDS campaign, this time warning the public about the harms of social media apps such as China-owned TikTok and Byte Dance.
Home Affairs, AS I O and the Australian Signals Directorate have provided the federal government with a confidential review as the basis for a strategy to combat risks of personal data theft and fraud by foreign-owned app entities. They have noted the “lack of transparency” about the data the apps collect and pass on to other entities, as well as the potential for misuse.
Critically, the review notes there is a limit to how much government and agencies can do and responsibility rests with people to be aware and protect themselves against cyber fraud by foreign state actors and criminals.
Home Affairs has been given funding for a public awareness campaign on the risks attached to social media apps, specifically those foreign-owned, such as video-sharing app TikTok (China) and photo filter Face A pp( Russia ).
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has indicated the government is unlikely to ban TikTok, but said consumers should understand where their data is going.
Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and trade committee member, Liberal senator Concetta Fierrav anti-Wells, citing TikTok and Byte Dance, told parliament it was time for the sinister nature of some social media apps to be made more broadly known, in an “in-yourface” commercial television campaign like the Grim Reaper AIDS TV and print advertisements, which scared a generation into action.
The senator has led warnings about Chinese government influence since 2016, when as minister for international development and the Pacific she first flagged China’s push into the region and “debt trap diplomacy” ensnaring Pacific nations. “I think the apps are a real worry and I don’t think people quite understand these organisations,” she said on Thursday.
TikTok executives in Australia have denied user data is passed on to the Chinese government.