Canadian government bans TikTok on staff devices: Report

Privacy regulators are investigating the app over concerns about the platform's collection, use and disclosure of personal information

The TikTok logo is pictured outside the company's US head office in Culver City, California. — Reuters file

By Reuters

Published: Mon 27 Feb 2023, 9:10 PM

Last updated: Mon 27 Feb 2023, 9:11 PM

Canada is banning Chinese social media app TikTok from all government-issued devices effective Tuesday, the National Post reported on Monday, citing official communication sent to federal government employees.

The decision was made by Canada's chief information officer to ensure the security of government information after an internal review showed that TikTok's data collection methods may leave users vulnerable to cyber attacks, the newspaper reported.

The move, which comes days after the European Commission imposed a similar ban, underscores the growing lobby against TikTok over concerns of its proximity to the Chinese government and hold over user data across the world.

Canada's federal and provincial privacy regulators are also jointly investigating the app, owned by Chinese firm ByteDance Ltd, over concerns about the platform's collection, use and disclosure of personal information.

Neither TikTok nor Canada's Treasury Board, which includes the office of the country's chief information officer, had an immediate comment.

Canada's action is another potential thorn in Sino-Canadian relations which have been tense in recent years for various reasons, most recently over accusations by Ottawa that China has tried to influence its elections and that it has been running air and maritime surveillance activities.

Beijing denies those allegations and has urged Ottawa to stop what it has described as unwarranted speculation and smearing.