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Scott Morrison rules out banning TikTok

Daniel McCullochAAP
Australia will continue to monitor TikTok says Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
Camera IconAustralia will continue to monitor TikTok says Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Australia has no intention of banning TikTok but intelligence agencies will continue to monitor the popular short-video app.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has distanced himself from US President Donald Trump's threat to ban the Chinese-owned app.

"We'll obviously keep watching them but there's no evidence to suggest to us today that that is a step that is necessary," Mr Morrison told the online Aspen Security Forum on Wednesday.

"There's nothing at this point that would suggest to us that security interests are being compromised or Australian citizens are being compromised.

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"But people should know that the line connects right back to China and they should exercise their own judgment about whether they should participate in those things or not."

The prime minister confirmed last month Australia was looking at TikTok over national security concerns about the personal data it handles.

China's US ambassador Cui Tiankai told the Aspen Security Forum there was no evidence the company was sharing information with Beijing.

Mr Trump has threatened to ban TikTok in the US on September 15 unless its American operations are sold.

The US president wants the government to get a "substantial portion" of the sale price.

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