Local authorities have responded to new TikTok laws in the US. 

The bill passed in the US requires TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell off its American operations within a year, prompting a ripple of global scrutiny and geopolitical tensions.

Brett Armstrong, the General Manager of TikTok’s advertising sector in Australia, does not want to see the same thing repeated locally. 

“There’s no reason for TikTok to be banned,” he told reporters. 

“There’s no evidence of any concerns and that’s why we’re focused on [TikTok’s contributions] here.”

Some US lawmakers argue TikTok’s operations and data could be exploited by the Chinese Communist Party to gather data on Americans and influence public opinion. 

Despite the international uproar, Armstrong highlighted TikTok's positive economic impact in Australia. 

A report by Oxford Economics, commissioned by TikTok, allegedly showed that the platform supports 13,000 jobs and contributes $1.1 billion to Australia’s GDP. 

Coalition home affairs spokesperson James Paterson has called for the Albanese government to mirror US regulations. 

Paterson is concerned about a potential division in the app, creating “a safer one for Americans, free of Chinese Communist Party influence, and a dangerous one for the rest of the world including Australia beholden to an authoritarian state”. 

The Australian government has already banned TikTok on government devices handling sensitive information. 

A spokesperson for Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said; “We are monitoring events in the US closely, and will take additional advice if any potential sale or new information from our agencies make it necessary”. 

Microsoft and investment groups are looking at a potential acquisition of TikTok's US operations. Insiders say there is a chance of Australia following the US lead.