Following the suit of other federal governments, Canada has announced a ban on using TikTok on government-issued mobile devices effective tomorrow, February 28.
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Over the past year or so, there have been major concerns with regard to the Chinese-based social media app and its security risks and what data it gathers and where it sends it. Mona Fortier, the President of the Treasury Board of Canada, issued a statement online and via Twitter outlining the ban.
My statement announcing a ban on the use of TikTok on Government of Canada mobile devices. pic.twitter.com/X8Zfuyz5p4
— Mona Fortier 🇨🇦 (@MonaFortier) February 27, 2023
As you can read above, the Chief Information Officer of Canada reviewed the popular social media app and determined that TikTok “presents an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security.” The main point of contention with TikTok is that the Chinese government has laws in place that require organizations to hand over data to the government when requested. Of course, that could have huge security implications should that data originate from a foreign government device. The CIO of Canada determined that “TikTok’s data collection methods provide considerable access to the contents of the phone.”
The move follows bans by both the U.S. and European Union last year on government devices. The media release mentioned that the ban will take effect starting tomorrow, February 28, 2023, when TikTok will be removed from government-issued mobile devices. In addition, users of government devices will be blocked from downloading the app going forward.
The release also went on to assure users stating that there is “no evidence at this point that government information has been compromised.” While the ban only applies to government-issued devices, the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security “strongly recommends” that all Canadians carefully examine the risks of any apps they choose to use and install on their personal devices.
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