Australia banned TikTok on Tuesday from all federal government-owned devices over security concerns, becoming the latest US-allied country to take action against the Chinese-owned video app.<br /><br />The ban underscores growing worries that China could use the Beijing-based company, owned by ByteDance Ltd, to harvest users' data to advance its political agenda, undermining Western security interests.<br /><br />It also risks renewing diplomatic tension between Australia and its largest trading partner after things eased somewhat since Prime Minister Anthony Albanese took office in May at the head of a Labor government.<br /><br />TikTok said it was extremely disappointed by Australia's decision, calling it "driven by politics, not by fact".<br /><br />The ban will come into effect "as soon as practicable", Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said in a statement, adding that exemptions would only be granted on a case-by-case basis and with appropriate security measures in place.<br /><br />With Australia's ban, all members of the so-called Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network - which consists of Australia, Canada, the United States, Britain and New Zealand - have banned the app from government devices. France, Belgium and the European Commission have announced similar bans.<br /><br />TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, in testimonybefore the US Congress last month, repeatedly denied the app shares data or has connections with the Chinese Communist Party.<br /><br />TikTok's Australia and New Zealand General Manager Lee Hunter said TikTok should not be singled out.<br /><br />"There is no evidence to suggest that TikTok is in any way a security risk to Australians and should not be treated differently to other social media
