Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the decision followed advice from the country’s intelligence agencies and would begin “as soon as practicable”.

Australia is the last member of the secretive Five Eyes security alliance to pursue a government TikTok ban, joining its allies the United States, Britain, Canada and New Zealand.

France, the Netherlands and the European Commission have made similar moves.

Dreyfus said the government would approve some exemptions on a “case-by-case basis” with “appropriate security mitigations in place”.

Cyber security experts have warned that the app — which boasts more than one billion global users — could be used to hoover up data that is then shared with the Chinese government.

Surveys have estimated that as many as seven million Australians use the app — or about a quarter of the population.

In a security notice outlining the ban, the Attorney-General’s department said TikTok posed “significant security and privacy risks” stemming from the “extensive collection of user data”.

Fergus Ryan, an analyst with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said stripping TikTok from government devices was a “no-brainer”.

“It’s been clear for years that TikTok user data is accessible in China,” Ryan told AFP.

“Banning the use of the app on government phones is a prudent decision given this fact.”

Ryan said Beijing would likely “perceive it as unfair treatment of and discrimination against a Chinese company”.

The security concerns are underpinned by a 2017 Chinese law that requires local firms to hand over personal data to the state if it is relevant to national security.

Beijing has denied these reforms pose a threat to ordinary users

China “has never and will not require companies or individuals to collect or provide data located in a foreign country, in a way that violates local law”, foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in March.

The skit maker was on Thursday arraigned on charges that border on defamation of character, vulgarity, public nuisance and breach of public peace.

The defamation charge was added to the counts following a complaint filed by two other TikTokers, namely Aisha Najamu and Idris Maiwushirya, accusing Murja of defaming their character, according to Daily Post.

After all the charges were read to the accused by the prosecuting counsel, Lamido Sorondinki, she pleaded not guilty.

Thereafter, Murja’s lawyer Yasir Musa moved an application for her bail, but was opposed by the prosecution counsel.

The Judge, Abdullahi Halliru, ordered that the accused person be remanded in prison custody and subsequently adjourned the case till February 16 for ruling on the bail application.

Murja was recently arrested by the police in Kano on the order of a Shari’a court.

An NCC-CSIRT advisory said threat actors have taken advantage of a viral TikTok challenge, known as the Invisible Challenge, to disseminate an information-stealing malware known as the WASP (or W4SP) stealer.

The WASP stealer, which is high in probability with critical damage potential, is a persistent malware hosted on discord that its developer claim is undetectable.

The advisory said “The Invisible Challenge involves wrapping a somewhat transparent body contouring filter around a presumed naked individual. Attackers are uploading videos to TikTok with a link to software that they claim can reverse the filter’s effects.

“Those who click on the link and attempt to download the software, known as “unfilter,” are infected with the WASP stealer. Suspended accounts had amassed over a million views after initially posting the videos with a link. Following the link leads to the “Space Unfilter” Discord server, which had 32,000 members at its peak but has since been removed by its creators.

“Successful installation will allow the malware to harvest keystrokes, screenshots, network activity, and other information from devices where it is installed. It may also covertly monitor user behaviour and harvest Personally Identifiable Information (PII), including names and passwords, keystrokes from emails, chat programs, websites visited, and financial activity. This malware may be capable of covertly collecting screenshots, video recordings, or the ability to activate any connected camera or microphone,” it explained.

The Team said some ways to forestall such an attack include avoiding clicking on suspicious links, using anti-malware software on your devices, checking the app tray and removing any apps that you do not remember installing or that are dormant and embracing healthy password hygiene practices such as using a password manager.

The CSIRT is the telecom sector’s cyber security incidence centre set up by the NCC to focus on incidents in the telecom sector and as they may affect telecom consumers and citizens at large.

The CSIRT also works collaboratively with Nigerian Computer Emergency Response Team (ngCERT), established by the Federal Government to reduce the volume of future computer risk incidents by preparing, protecting, and securing Nigerian cyberspace to forestall attacks, and problems or related events.

The Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Film and Video Censors Board (LSFVCB), Adebukola Agbaminoja stated this in a media chat.

She added that the State Government has created an enabling environment for digital content creative works to thrive and for content providers to realise their full potential.

Agbaminoja explained that, with the establishment of the Lagos State Film Fund by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Administration has shown its commitment to encouraging the development of award-winning stories/content that could favourable compete globally.

She, therefore, urged TikTok organisation to form a synergy with relevant agencies locally to tap into the tremendous potential the State has for growth while adopting professionalism in their works for mutually beneficial relationships.

The suit, which was filed in the Federal District Court for the Central District of California on Monday, August 24, alleges that Trump’s order violates due process protections and offers no evidence to back up its claims that TikTok presents a national security threat.

“The executive order is not rooted in bona fide national security concerns,” the complaint reads, noting that “independent national security and information security experts have criticized the political nature of this executive order, and expressed doubt as to whether its stated national security objective is genuine. The Trump administration ignored our extensive efforts to address its concerns, which we conducted fully and in good faith,” TikTok wrote in a press release. “We do not take suing the government lightly, however, we feel we have no choice but to take action to protect our rights and the rights of our community and employees. Our more than 1,500 employees across the U.S. pour their hearts into building this platform every day”

President Trump has repeatedly said that TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese internet company ByteDance, poses a national security threat because of its Chinese ties.

On August 6, he signed executive orders banning social media apps TikTok and WeChat from operating in the US in 45 days if they are not sold by their Chinese-owned parent companies.

US officials and lawmakers in recent weeks have voiced fears of the wildly popular video platform being used by Beijing for nefarious purposes, but the company has denied any links to the Chinese government.

Media reports circulated earlier Friday saying that Trump would require the US operations of the app be divested from its Chinese parent firm ByteDance, but the president announced a ban.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump said: “As far as TikTok is concerned, we’re banning them from the United States.”

He added he would take action as soon as Saturday using emergency economic power or an executive order.

Trump’s move comes following a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS) in the United States, which investigates deals affecting US national security.

TikTok, especially popular with young audiences who create and watch its short-form videos, has an estimated billion users worldwide.

Queried by AFP, TikTok declined to comment on the reports of the forced sales, saying only: “We are confident in the long-term success of TikTok.

“Hundreds of millions of people come to TikTok for entertainment and connection, including our community of creators and artists who are building livelihoods from the platform.”

The firm this week pledged a high level of transparency, including allowing reviews of its algorithms, to assure users and regulators.

“We are not political, we do not accept political advertising and have no agenda — our only objective is to remain a vibrant, dynamic platform for everyone to enjoy,” TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer said in post this week.

“TikTok has become the latest target, but we are not the enemy.”

The popularity of the platform surged after ByteDance acquired US-based app Musical.ly in 2017 and merged it with its own video service.

James Lewis, head of the technology policy program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said he believes the security risk of using TikTok is “close to zero” but that ByteDance could face pressure from China to engage in censorship.

“It looks like ByteDance may be getting squeezed by Beijing, so making them divest makes sense,” Lewis said. “They could start censoring stuff.”

Lewis said US authorities under CFIUS have the power to unwind an acquisition previously approved and that a similar action was taken in 2019 with the dating app Grindr after it was bought by a Chinese firm.

Source: Agency Report

The Dubai tourism body labelled the TikTok videos as “the new social currency,” saying that it was necessary to therefore expand its marketing strategy beyond traditional mediums.
Other bodies that participated in the #ThisisDubai campaign on TikTok included Mall of the Emirates, La Perle, Burj Khalifa, Dubai Parks and Resorts, Skydive Dubai, Uber, The Palm and Palazzo Versace Dubai, among others.