Australian Senate Committee Recommends Government Ban on TikTok Be Extended to WeChat

An Australian Senate committee has recommended a ban on the Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok from federal government devices be extended to China’s most popular social media platform, WeChat.

The Committee on Foreign Interference through Social Media also recommended in a report late Tuesday that social media giants such as Facebook and Twitter should become more transparent or be fined.

Committee chair James Paterson said on Wednesday the report’s recommendations would make Australia a more difficult target for the serious foreign interference risks that the nation faced.

“It tackles both the problems posed by authoritarian-headquartered social media platforms like TikTok and WeChat and Westernheadquartered social media platforms being weaponized by the actions of authoritarian governments including Facebook, YouTube and Twitter,” Paterson told reporters.

The committee was established last year to examine uses of social media that undermine Australia’s democracy and values, including the spread of misinformation and disinformation.