- The Government of Canada is banning the use of social media app TikTok on all government-owned devices and phones
- The move is precautionary in nature, based on security concerns over the app’s data collection
- The government says TikTok presents an “unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security”
The Government of Canada is banning the use of social media app TikTok on all government-owned devices and phones.
Treasury Board of Canada President Mona Fortier confirmed the news in a statement Monday.
The move is precautionary in nature, based on security concerns over the app’s data collection.
TikTok’s data collection methods provide considerable access to the contents of the phone, the government said in a statement, calling it an “unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security.”
“The Government of Canada is committed to keeping government information secure. We regularly monitor our systems and take action to address risks,” Fortier said in a statement.
“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. On a mobile device, TikTok’s data collection methods provide considerable access to the contents of the phone.”
The app is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance.
Officials in both Canada and the United States have repeatedly expressed concerns about the app being forced to turn over its data to the Chinese government.
The TikTok application will be removed from government-issued mobile devices as of February 28.
Users will also be blocked from downloading the application in the future.
“Following a review of TikTok, the Chief Information Officer of Canada determined that it presents an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security,” the government said in the statement.
The federal government does acknowledge that, at this point, it has “no evidence” that any government information has been compromised.