The Australian Senate committee has recommended extending the ban on the Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok to China’s popular social media platform, WeChat. The Committee on Foreign Interference through Social Media also called for greater transparency from social media giants like Facebook and Twitter, with the possibility of fines.
The committee, headed by James Paterson, believes that these recommendations will make Australia a more challenging target for the foreign interference risks it faces. Paterson stated that the report addresses the problems posed by both authoritarian-headquartered platforms like TikTok and WeChat, as well as Western-headquartered platforms that are exploited by authoritarian governments, such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.
Established last year, the committee aimed to investigate the use of social media to undermine Australia’s democracy and values, including the spread of misinformation. The report found that China and other authoritarian regimes pose an unacceptable risk to democracies through targeted disinformation campaigns on social media platforms, which manipulate public debate and undermine trust in institutions.
TikTok and WeChat, both owned by Chinese entities (ByteDance and Tencent, respectively), raised particular concerns for the committee due to their ties to Chinese authorities. Following the advice of security agencies, Australia became the last of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing partners to ban TikTok from government devices in April. The committee now recommends extending this ban to WeChat due to similar risks of data security and foreign interference.
Tencent, the owner of WeChat, stated that it is reviewing the report and remains committed to protecting user privacy. The committee also suggested that large social media platforms operating in Australia meet a minimum set of transparency requirements that can be enforced with fines. Meta (owner of Facebook and YouTube) and Twitter have not yet responded to requests for comment. The government will consider the report’s recommendations and provide a response in the future, according to Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil. The government is already taking action, including a review of security challenges associated with social media companies and insights from national security agencies.