July 11, 2023
Major consulting firms McKinsey & Co, Deloitte and EY have banned the use of TikTok on work-issued devices, while Accenture is considering the move following the Australian government’s ban on using the app on public service devices.
Following The Australian Financial Review revealing that PwC Australia had banned TikTok on work devices for any staff working for federal and state government clients, opposition spokesman on home affairs James Paterson wrote to the big consulting firms – as major government contract holders – to ask whether they had any policies in place regarding the Chinese-owned app.
EY replied that TikTok is not allowed on its work devices, while Deloitte said, in response to Mr Paterson’s letter, it was introducing new measures to prevent the app being downloaded on its work-issued devices, such as laptops. Deloitte has a bring-your-own-phone and does not have any restrictions on staff using TikTok on these personal devices, which can be used for work purposes.
McKinsey & Co said it had blocked TikTok on all its work devices in Australia following the ban on government devices.
Accenture responded that it would conduct a review following the letter, and KPMG said TikTok cannot be accessed on its network, but no ban exists, and the app can be used on normal mobile networks.
Boston Consulting Group did not respond.
In April, the Australian government banned TikTok from official devices, saying it posed “significant security and privacy risks” due to the amount of data it harvests and “exposure to extrajudicial directions from a foreign government that conflict with Australian law”.
“It’s our understanding that these long-standing policies are not specific to TikTok, and they prevent access to a broad range of websites and applications on work-issued devices,” said Ella Woods-Joyce, TikTok’s acting director of public policy for Australia and New Zealand.
“We also understand that PwC’s policy regarding TikTok on work-issued devices of employees working on government matters is currently under review.”
The consulting firms did not answer questions about how many staff members the policies would affect. EY allows the use of personal devices for work; however, it requires the user to enrol in its endpoint management system, which can separate work-related and personal data on phones.
It is understood all McKinsey Australia staff use work-issued devices.
The Australian government spent more than $2 billion with the so-called big four and Accenture in the 2022 financial year. Accenture received contracts and extensions worth $578.5 million, KPMG locked in $505.5 million, Deloitte secured $383.5 million, PwC Australia won $329 million and EY received $210.4 million.
Mr Paterson is urging the government to extend its TikTok ban to include all external government contractors.
“Private firms with significant exposure to government information should comply with Australian government protective security practices, including the Attorney-General’s Department direction on the TikTok application,” Mr Paterson said.
“While some firms are moving in the right direction, more needs to be done to urgently close this loophole which puts Australia’s national security at risk. The Coalition is calling on the Albanese government to make clear that suppliers of lucrative government contracts must adhere to robust data security practices to protect government information.”
In a number of Western democratic countries TikTok is battling to convince politicians that it operates independently of ByteDance, which has deep ties to the Chinese Community Party, amid fears China and its security laws could compel the app owner to share data.
TikTok has repeatedly denied any connections to the Chinese Communist Party.
