Allegations that TikTok has engaged in data scraping has led the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner to consider investigating the social media app's handling of personal information.
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The agency will probe allegations published by Nine newspapers that TikTok is collecting personal information - including email addresses, mobile phone numbers and browsing histories - without consent, using a tracking tool known as pixel.
It will also consider findings from the UK Information Commissioner's Office that more than 1 million UK children under 13 were using the app in 2020, and that the company had not done enough to check who was using the app.
"We are making inquiries relating to TikTok's handling of personal information following the findings made by the UK Information Commissioner's Office in its investigation into the company," Information and Privacy Commissioner Angelene Falk said in a statement on Wednesday.
"The OAIC is also making inquiries following recent information which alleges data scraping in regard to TikTok's practices in order to determine whether to investigate."
Concern about the social media app's tracking practices has prompted marketing agency Civic Data to issue a warning about pixel.
A TikTok spokesperson rejected the claims, and said Pixel usage was voluntary for advertising clients to adopt and "is an industry-wide tool used to improve the effectiveness of advertising services".
"Our use of this tool is compliant with all current Australian privacy laws and regulations and we dismiss any suggestion otherwise.
"We also rely on our advertising clients to only share data with us through the Pixel, if they have in turn provided their customers with the necessary information and obtained the necessary permissions.
"As we have said publicly on many occasions, Australian user data is encrypted and stored in world-class data centres in the US and Singapore."
TikTok was banned from most Australian government devices earlier in 2023, over concerns that data could be harvested and accessed by the Chinese government under national laws.
Opposition spokesperson for Home Affairs James Paterson welcomed the commission's response, saying the claims were "deeply concerning".
"This conduct would be unacceptable from any company but is particularly alarming given TikTok is beholden to the Chinese Communist Party and is required under China's intelligence laws to share information with Chinese government intelligence agencies," Senator Paterson said in a statement.
"These latest revelations add to a litany of misconduct by TikTok and its parent company Bytedance including using the TikTok app to spy on journalists, suppressing content critical of the Chinese Communist Party and seeking to mislead the public about Bytedance's extensive links to the Chinese government."
Ms Falk also forecast a critical year ahead for Australia's privacy law, as the federal government prepares to introduce reforms to the Privacy Act.
"The OAIC welcomed the government's response to the Privacy Act Review report which 'agreed' or 'agreed-in-principle' to 106 proposals for reform, including the introduction of a Children's Online Privacy Code and a new obligation that the collection, use and disclosure of personal information must be 'fair and reasonable' in the circumstances," Ms Falk said.
"The OAIC considers reforms to the Privacy Act are a vital step to ensure Australia's privacy framework is fit for the digital age. Legislation is expected in 2024."
Miriam Webber
I report on the public service and politics for the Canberra Times. Reach me at miriam.webber@canberratimes.com.au
I report on the public service and politics for the Canberra Times. Reach me at miriam.webber@canberratimes.com.au
