Canada bans TikTok on government devices
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The company insists that Chinese government officials don’t have access to user data and that a Chinese version of the app is separate from the one used in the rest of the world. But last year, the company admitted some staff in China can access the data of European users.
Canada bans TikTok on government devices
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TikTok has been banned from government-issued mobile devices in Canada, the country’s Treasury Board announced Monday. Taking effect on February 28, this block follows similar actions taken by the European Commission and some state governments in the U.S.
The European Commission issued their directive to remove TikTok from government devices late last week. That same day, four Canadian privacy regulators announced that they would jointly investigate TikTok. Already, the chief information officer of Canada has determined that TikTok poses “an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security.” Canadian officials haven’t found any evidence that government data has been compromised, so this is considered a precautionary measure.
“The decision to remove and block TikTok from government mobile devices is being taken as a precaution, particularly given concerns about the legal regime that governs the information collected from mobile devices, and is in line with the approach of our international partners,” said Treasury Board President Mona Fortier in a statement. “On a mobile device, TikTok’s data collection methods provide considerable access to the contents of the phone.”
TikTok claims that the Canadian government did not reach out to discuss concerns about the app.
“It’s curious that the Government of Canada has moved to block TikTok on government-issued devices — without citing any specific security concern or contacting us with questions — only after similar bans were introduced in the EU and the US,” a TikTok spokesperson said in an email to TechCrunch. “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.”
In December, the U.S. House of Representatives banned the use of TikTok on any government devices. Some members of Congress still have TikTok accounts, presumably managed on separate devices. State governments like those in Texas, Georgia, Maryland, South Carolina and more than a dozen others have enacted similar restrictions. In some cases, these bans trickle down to state-funded college campuses, where schools like the University of Texas, Auburn University and the University of Oklahoma have prohibited the use of TikTok on campus Wi-Fi or school-owned devices.
These government bodies are concerned that TikTok, owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, could be used by the Chinese government to gather sensitive information from political officials. Though TikTok repeatedly assured American consumers that their data was stored in the U.S., an investigation last year revealed that engineers in China had access to American TikTok data as recently as January 2022. TikTok then said it would move U.S. users’ data to Oracle servers stored in the United States. Another investigation, corroborated by ByteDance, found that a small group of engineers inappropriately accessed two U.S. journalists’ data; they planned to use these journalists’ location data to determine if they crossed paths with any ByteDance employees who may have leaked information to these reporters.
A TikTok spokesperson told TechCrunch that the company stores Canadian user data in the U.S. and Singapore. The platform has never provided data to the Chinese government, the spokesperson added, and would refuse if asked.
Update, 2/27/23, 6:30 PM ET with additional information from TikTok.
Canada bans TikTok on government devices over security risks
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Canada has announced it is banning TikTok from all government-issued mobile devices, reflecting widening worries from western officials over the Chinese-owned video sharing app.
Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister, said there may or may not be further steps. “I suspect that as government takes the significant step of telling all federal employees that they can no longer use TikTok on their work phones, many Canadians from business to private individuals will reflect on the security of their own data and perhaps make choices,” Trudeau said.
“I’m always a fan of giving Canadians the information for them to make the right decisions for them.”
The European Union’s executive branch said last week it had temporarily banned TikTok from phones used by employees as a cybersecurity measure.
The EU’s action follows similar moves in the US, where more than half of the states and Congress have banned TikTok from official government devices.
Last week, Canada’s federal privacy watchdog and its provincial counterparts in British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec announced an investigation of whether the app complies with Canadian privacy legislation.
TikTok is wildly popular with young people, but its Chinese ownership has raised fears that Beijing could be collecting data on western users or pushing pro-China narratives and misinformation. TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company that moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2020.
TikTok faces intensifying scrutiny from Europe and America over security and data privacy amid worries that the app could be used to promote pro-Beijing views or sweep up users’ information. It comes as China and the west are locked in a wider tug of war over technology ranging from spy balloons to computer chips.
The Canadian treasury board president, Mona Fortier, said the federal government would also block the app from being downloaded on official devices in the future.
Fortier said the chief information officer of Canada had determined it “presents an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security”.
The app will be removed from Canadian government-issued phones on Tuesday.
“On a mobile device, TikTok’s data collection methods provide considerable access to the contents of the phone,” Fortier said.
“While the risks of using this application are clear, we have no evidence at this point that government information has been compromised.”
Media reports have raised concerns about possible Chinese interference in recent Canadian elections, prompting opposition parties to call for a public inquiry into alleged foreign election interference.
A TikTok spokesperson said in a email: “It’s curious that the government of Canada has moved to block TikTok on government-issued devices without citing any specific security concern or contacting us with questions only after similar bans were introduced in the EU and the US.”
The company said it was always available to discuss the privacy and security of Canadians. “Singling out TikTok in this way does nothing to achieve that shared goal,” the email said. “All it does is prevent officials from reaching the public on a platform loved by millions of Canadians.”
Canada bans TikTok from government devices citing security risks
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OTTAWA: Canada on Monday (Feb 27) announced a ban on Chinese-owned social media app TikTok from government-issued devices, saying it presents an “unacceptable” level of risk to privacy and security, adding to the growing rift between the two countries.
The move underscores the growing lobby against TikTok, owned by Chinese firm ByteDance Ltd, over concerns of its proximity to Beijing and hold over user data across the world.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters that his government was looking carefully at how to ensure Canadians' online safety.
“This may be a first step, it may be the only step we need to take,” he said referring to the action against TikTok.
As government bans TikTok on work phones, “many Canadians, businesses and private individuals will reflect on the security of their own data and perhaps make choices in consequence”, he said.
The ban would go into effect from Tuesday and federal employees would also be blocked from downloading the application in the future, according to a statement from Canada’s Treasury Board, which oversees the public administration.
TikTok’s data collection methods provide considerable access to the contents of the phone, Treasury Board President Mona Fortier said in the statement.
“While the risks of using this application are clear, we have no evidence at this point that government information has been compromised,” she said.
TikTok initially said it was disappointed by the decision, but later issued another statement to note that it was “curious” that Canada moved to block the app only after similar bans in the European Union and the United States.
The ban was issued “without citing any specific security concern or contacting us with questions”, a TikTok spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
The European Commission imposed a similar ban last week, while the US Senate in December passed a Bill to bar federal employees from using the app on government-owned devices. India banned TikTok in 2020.
TikTok banned from official devices in Canada, joining US and Europe
(Getty Images)
TikTok has been banned on official Canadian devices, making it the latest country to take action against the app.
Similar bans are already in place in the federal US government, many states, and the European Commission. Like those bans, the new ruling in Canada will see the app removed from devices owned by government employees.
Canada followed other bans in indicating that the ban was the result of fears about privacy and security, though it did not specify exactly what concerns it had.
“A review of the mobile application’s behavior in relation to the Policy on Service and Digital found that TikTok’s data collection methods may leave users vulnerable to cyber attacks,” a note sent to staff read, according to Bloomberg and the National Post, which both reported the news.
As such, the app will be “automatically removed and blocked from use on all government-issued mobile devices”, the note reportedly warned.
Numerous politicians have suggested that the TikTok’s ownership by the China-based Bytedance has led to security worries. They have suggested that the Chinese government will be able to use the app to access the data of citizens – though Bytedance has claimed that the Chinese government cannot access that data and that it is stored in local markets.
The Canadian ban comes just days after the European Commission banned the app from official devices, also citing the increased risk of cyber attacks. That in turn had followed a range of similar rulings in the US, at both federal and state level, which tended to focus on the danger to citizens’ data.
TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Independent but told media that it was “disappointed” in the Canadian decision.
“We’re disappointed that the Chief Information Officer of Canada has moved to block TikTok on government-issued mobile devices without citing any specific security concerns about TikTok or contacting us to discuss any concern prior to making this decision,” a spokesperson told Engadget.
“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.
“All it does is prevent officials from reaching the public on a platform loved by millions of Canadians.”
Canada: TikTok under scanner as privacy regulators launch investigation
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Canada is launching an investigation on federal as well as provincial level into short-video sharing platform TikTok. The joint investigation has been launched over concerns about the Chinese-owned platform’s collection, use and disclosure of personal information of users.
Privacy Commissioner of Canada said in a statement that the federal privacy regulator and provincial regulators in Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia will investigate whether TikTok complies with Canadian privacy laws or not.
They will focus on examining “whether valid and meaningful consent is being obtained for the collection, use and disclosure of personal information,” according to the statement.
A spokesperson for TikTok said the privacy and safety of users “is always a top priority” and the probe was an opportunity to “set the record straight” on how the company protects the privacy of Canadians. The spokesperson was quoted by Reuters.
TikTok is being scrutinised by agencies and governments around the world due to concerns that China may misuse the app users' data. China denies such allegations. ByteDance, a Chinese company, owns TikTok.
The European Union’s two biggest policy-making institutions have banned TikTok from staff phones, while the U.S. Senate in December passed a bill to bar federal employees from using the app on government-owned devices.
The investigation also adds another potential thorn in Sino-Canadian relations which have been tense for various reasons, including recent accusations by Ottawa that China has tried to influence its elections and that it has been running air and maritime surveillance activities.
(With inputs from agencies)
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Why is Canada’s government banning TikTok on its employees phones?
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Canada
Why is Canada’s government banning TikTok on its employees phones?
The Canadian government has announced it is banning TikTok from being on any government-issued mobile device after Canada’s Chief Information Officer conducted a review of the app and found it presents “an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security.” Kyle Benning has more on why the government is putting the ban in place and how TikTok is responding.