NSW Public Servants are to be banned from TikTok following advice from the Commonwealth Government.
Announcing the move, Premier Chris Minns said the ban would prevent the installation of the app and remove existing instances of it on Government-issued devices.
Mr Minns said that earlier this month, the Commonwealth Attorney-General announced amendments to the Commonwealth Protective Security Policy Framework (PSPF) that allow the Secretary of the Attorney-General’s Department to issue mandatory directions to Government entities that require them to address security risks to the Commonwealth.
“As part of this change to the PSPF, a direction has been issued to prevent Federal Government entities from accessing and installing the TikTok application on Government-issued devices,” Mr Minns said.
“Cyber Security NSW will work across the NSW public sector to lead a strategic implementation of the ban on government-issued devices in line with advice from the Commonwealth,” he said.
“This ban will prevent NSW Government clusters and agencies from accessing and installing the TikTok application on government-issued devices.”
Mr Minns said that in particular cases where there was a need for TikTok for ‘legitimate business reasons’ – such as for public health and safety messaging – Agencies must first complete a risk assessment in consultation with the respective Chief Information Security Officer and the Chief Cyber Security Officer.
He said Cyber Security NSW would provide more detailed advice on related security risk mitigations to NSW Government clusters and Agencies.
“I have asked for Cyber Security NSW to issue advice to NSW Government employees, to implement this change as soon as possible,” the Premier said.
“I will no longer be using TikTok.”
