PM’s major social media backflip

On Christmas Eve, Mr Morrison uploaded his first ever TikTok video, quickly followed by another video on Christmas Day.

His account, under the handle pm_scomo, has already been verified.

Comments, duets and mentions have been turned off and he has just 1854 followers at time of writing.

In August 2020, Mr Morrison warned that TikTok users should know the app’s “extension cord goes back to China”.

Now, a year later, he has joined the platform with a federal election looming in Australia.

Mr Morrison briefly considered banning TikTok last year over concerns the data was being funnelled back into the hands of China’s communist government, as the app is is owned by Chinese company ByteDance.

He warned Aussie TikTok users intelligence agencies were “looking closely” at the popular video sharing app, but ultimately decided against a ban.

“There’s no reason for us to restrict those applications at this point. We’ll obviously keep watching them,’’ he said.

“But I think people should understand and there’s a sort of a buyer beware process.

“There’s nothing at this point that would suggest to us that security interests have been compromised or Australian citizens have been compromised because of what’s happening with those applications.

“But people should know that the line connects right back to China and that they should exercise their own judgment about whether they should participate in those things or not.”

TikTok insists Australian data is stored in Singapore and the US, but other nations have also professed their concerns over how true these claims are.

In fact, former US president Donald Trump even went as far as trying to ban TikTok in the states unless the Chinese company could find a US buyer.

Mr Morrison has also copped criticism for turning off all features on his TikTok except the ability to like or follow him.

Nobody can comment on his posts or mention him in their own videos or comments.

TikTok users also can’t “duet” his videos — where you use another person’s video alongside your own in a split-screen display.

The “stitch” feature has also been removed from Mr Morrison’s account, which is where you can trim a clip from someone else’s video to include in your own.

Writer for Pedestrian TV, Sweeney Preston, said not allowing people to engage with Mr Morrison’s TikTok was behaviour that belonged to an “absolute coward”.

Other TikTok users were up in arms about not being able to interact with any of his posts and one said the Prime Minister would be “f**ked” if he ever did open himself up to the young people on the platform.

It comes as TikTok overtook Google as the most visited website for 2021.

TikTok and Google flipflopped for the top spot throughout the year — including in October and November, when Google reigned supreme.

But eventually TikTok took over — and outranked Google.com, which includes Maps, Translate, Photos, Flights, Books and News.

Originally published as Scott Morrison joins TikTok as his criticism of the platform’s links to China come back to haunt him