France to Ban TikTok on Work Phones of Civil Servants

The TikTok app logo is seen in this illustration taken, August 22, 2022. (Reuters)
The TikTok app logo is seen in this illustration taken, August 22, 2022. (Reuters)
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France to Ban TikTok on Work Phones of Civil Servants

The TikTok app logo is seen in this illustration taken, August 22, 2022. (Reuters)
The TikTok app logo is seen in this illustration taken, August 22, 2022. (Reuters)

France will ban the use of Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok on the work phones of civil servants, Civil Service Minister Stanislas Guerini said on his Twitter account.

"In order to guarantee the cybersecurity of our administrations and civil servants, the government has decided to ban recreational applications such as TikTok on the professional phones of civil servants," he said in a statement.



Australia Ditches Plans to Fine Tech Giants for Misinformation

Facebook's new rebrand logo Meta is seen on a smartphone in front of displayed logo of Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus in this illustration picture taken October 28, 2021. (Reuters)
Facebook's new rebrand logo Meta is seen on a smartphone in front of displayed logo of Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus in this illustration picture taken October 28, 2021. (Reuters)
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Australia Ditches Plans to Fine Tech Giants for Misinformation

Facebook's new rebrand logo Meta is seen on a smartphone in front of displayed logo of Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus in this illustration picture taken October 28, 2021. (Reuters)
Facebook's new rebrand logo Meta is seen on a smartphone in front of displayed logo of Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus in this illustration picture taken October 28, 2021. (Reuters)

Australia has ditched plans to fine social media companies if they fail to stem the spread of misinformation, the country's communications minister said Sunday.

The proposed legislation outlined sweeping powers to fine tech companies up to five percent of their yearly turnover if they breached new online safety obligations.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said she had dumped the bill after running into significant opposition in the country's senate.

"Based on public statements and engagements with senators, it is clear that there is no pathway to legislate this proposal through the senate," she said in a statement.

The proposed bill notably drew the ire of tech baron Elon Musk, who in September likened the Australian government to "fascists".

Australia has been at the forefront of global efforts to regulate the tech giants.

The government will soon roll out a nationwide social media ban for children under 16.

Social media companies could be fined more than US$30 million if they fail to keep children off their platforms, under separate laws tabled before Australia's parliament on Thursday.