"Banning WeChat is not on the agenda" "TikTok will not be banned in Australia"

"There has been no consideration of banning WeChat; banning WeChat is not part of our plan at all (Note: original wording 'That's not part of our plan at all')." This is what Australia's acting federal Immigration Minister Alan Tudge stated in an interview on 6 August 2020. Minister Tudge told reporters that he is well aware of the importance of WeChat.

"I know that more than 800,000 people in Australia use WeChat, and it is very important to many of them. There are many Chinese Australians in my own community; I myself, and my daughter, both have WeChat accounts, and she uses WeChat to communicate with friends," Minister Tudge said. "Banning WeChat is not part of our plan."

Also on 6 August 2020, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison ruled out the possibility of banning TikTok in Australia during the Aspen Security Forum.

According to News Corp Australia, Morrison said in an interview, "We've had a good look at it, and there's no evidence that these applications are misusing personal data, at least from Australia's point of view. There is also currently no evidence that Australia's national security has been compromised by this app." He added, "I think Australians should be very mindful of their own personal privacy, and not just in relation to this one app, TikTok."