Recently I appeared on 7.30 to discuss the relationship between social media company TikTok and the Chinese Communist Party. 

TikTok is the first Chinese social media company to significantly break into Western markets. It's designed around personal video sharing and is targeted at young people. 

But there are serious concerns about how the data that TikTok collects may be used. 

China's National Intelligence Law of 2017 means the Chinese Communist Party can compel Chinese businesses to share information with them. 

To the CCP TikTok is an attractive database of the habits, psychology and personal preferences of over 1 million young Australians.

That’s powerful intelligence to have on our future political, military, business and social leaders.

And this is before we even get into allegations of TikTok ‘moderating’ content the CCP may find objectionable, such as the protests in Hong Kong.

Parents are right to be worried about their children’s privacy. And our country is right to be concerned about how their data might be used.

The ADF has already banned TikTok on work devices. We should each consider our own position and that of our children.