Canada bans TikTok use on government devices

Photo: Solen Feyissa/Unsplash

Canada is banning the use of TikTok from all government-issued devices starting Tuesday. This decision follows a review by Canada's chief information officer, saying the app "presents an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security." TikTok expressed disappointment over the decision and refuted that the ban happened "without citing any specific security concerns about TikTok or contacting us to discuss any concern prior to making this decision." The Canadian government's decision comes days after the European Commission imposed a similar ban. The app will be removed from government-issued phones this week. And it will be blocked from downloads in the future.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there was enough concern about security around the app to impose the change. "This may be the first step, this may be the only step we need to take," he said during a press conference on Monday near Toronto. Canadian privacy regulators are also investigating the video app over concerns about user data and how the company obtains "valid and meaningful" consent from users when collecting personal information. According to a recent survey by researchers at the Social Media Lab at Toronto Metropolitan University, around a quarter of Canadian adults use TikTok.

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