Sky News, an Australian broadcasting company, announced that it quit TikTok due to the app's posed risks.
In this photo illustration, the social media application logo TikTok is displayed on the screen of an iPhone on April 13, 2020, in Arlington, Virginia - TikTok has pledged $250 million to local organizations around the world supporting healthcare, education, and struggling communities impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Sky News Australia's Digital Editor, Jack Houghton, announced this decision.
He said that Sky News Australia boycotted TikTok as calls grow for media companies to leave the "Beijing-controlled" social media platform.
"The risks are far too great for any serious news publisher to ignore, and the gains are negligible at best," said Jack Houghton in his official Sky News report.
Sky News Quits TikTok!
According to CNN Business Edition, Sky News Australia believes that TikTok is a spy network pretending to be a social media platform.
A Sky News HD logo is pictured on a sign outside pay-TV giant Sky Plc's headquarters in Isleworth, west London, on March 17, 2017. - The government said that a proposed multi-billion takeover bid for European pay-TV giant Sky by 21st Century Fox would be probed by media watchdog Ofcom and the Competition and Markets Authority late March 16. Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch's Fox announced in December it had reached a formal agreement to buy the 61-percent stake in Sky, which it does not already own.
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The news agency's digital editor added that it was already proven that TikTok illegally acquires the personal data of public citizens, politicians, and journalists.
Because of this, Houghton urges other news agencies to stop trading security and integrity for a few "worthless views."
This is true for Sky News Australia since its official TikTok account only has over 65,000 followers.
Houghton said that they would no longer publish on TikTok in favor of adopting a consistent approach to security so that their audiences and journalists would be protected.
Will Other Australian News Companies Follow?
Sky News Australia is the first major Australian broadcaster to boycott TikTok, and other news agencies are already considering leaving the social media platform.
Some of them are already taking their first steps. For example, BBC U.K. recently required employees to remove TikTok from their corporate devices.
Houghton criticized this, saying that BBC U.K. doesn't want their staff to fall victim to TikTok's security risks but still publishes news on the platform.
As of writing, it is still unclear if other major Australian news companies will follow the recommendation of Sky News.
But, since the statements made by Jack Houghton against TikTok are pretty serious, there's a chance some of them would be encouraged to do so.
In other news, alleged new TikTok solutions could solve data problems.
Recently, a million-dollar TikTok fine was implemented by a Britain data watchdog.
For more news updates about TikTok, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.
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