Australian PM Morrison says no evidence to suggest TikTok ban necessary

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on August 3 that the government has found no evidence to suggest that the short-video app TikTok should be banned. Morrison’s comment comes after US President Donald Trump threatened to ban the Chinese-owned app, saying the firm will go out of business in September in the United States if it is not sold to an American company.

“We’ll obviously keep watching them, but there’s no evidence to suggest to us today that that is a step that is necessary,” Morrison told the virtual forum held virtually via Zoom.

The Australian PM said that there’s to suggest at this point that security interests are being compromised or Australian citizens are being compromised. However, he warned people about the company’s origin, saying they should exercise their own judgment about whether they should use such apps or not.

“There’s plenty of things on TikTok that are embarrassing enough in public,” he joked.

Meanwhile, Microsoft Corp confirmed the intent to purchase TikTok service in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, which will lead to tech giant owning and operating TikTok in these markets. The confirmation came after reports emerged that TikTok’s parent company Bytedance was planning to bring changes to its corporate structure, aimed at distancing the social networking service from China.

Read: Microsoft To Purchase TikTok In US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand

Read: Trump Wants A Cut For US From Any Microsoft-TikTok Purchase In Unprecedented Demand

China connection

According to a Bloomberg report, the growing concerns in the United States over the safety of the app due to its China connection has prompted executives to consider options to distance its operations from Beijing. TikTok said in a statement that the social media firm will move forward in the best interest of users, employees, artists, creators, partners, and policymakers.

Microsoft said in a statement that the company “fully appreciates” the importance of addressing the concerns, adding that it is committed to acquiring TikTok “subject to a complete security review”. It also emphasised on providing “proper economic benefits” to the US, including the Department of Treasury.

“Microsoft will move quickly to pursue discussions with TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, in a matter of weeks, and in any event completing these discussions no later than September 15, 2020,” the tech firm added.

Read: Trump Says TikTok Will Go 'out Of Business' If Not Sold To American Company Within 6 Weeks

Read: China Accuses US Of 'outright Bullying' After Trump's TikTok Ban Threat