Canada has banned TikTok on government mobile devices this week, after it found that the app posed an “unacceptable” risk to national privacy and security. It follows similar moves by other governments across the world, including in several areas of the Australian Government.
Further details
The Government called the ban a precautionary measure, and said there was “no evidence” that sensitive information had already been compromised through the use of TikTok.
Members of the Canadian general public will still be able to use TikTok on their personal devices.
The bans stem from long-standing data-sharing concerns between TikTok’s Chinese owners, ByteDance, and the Chinese Government.
Who else has banned it?
Similar bans on devices issued by governments have been recently introduced in the U.S. and the European Union.
It’s also been banned in some parts of the Australian Government, including the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.
TikTok’s response
TikTok said they weren’t contacted by the Canadian Government about the possibility of a ban, which they called “curious”. “We are always available to meet with our government officials to discuss how we protect the privacy and security of Canadians, but singling out TikTok in this way does nothing to achieve that shared goal.”
