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Canada has become the latest country to prohibit the enormously popular social media app TikTok from being used on government-issued phones, effective Tuesday, following similar steps in the United States and Europe. The Canadian government stated that it reviewed the video-sharing app operated by a Chinese corporation and concluded that it "presents an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security." TikTok will thus be removed from all government-issued mobile devices, according to a statement from the Treasury Board of Canada, and users of government-issued mobile devices will be barred from downloading the app in the future.
"The Government of Canada is dedicated to keeping government information secure. We check our systems on a frequent basis and take steps to address concerns," The Treasury Board President Mona Fortier said.
The decision is being made "as a precaution, particularly given concerns about the legal environment that regulates information obtained from mobile devices, and is consistent with the attitude of our foreign partners," according to Fortier. "We have no evidence at this point that government information has been compromised," she added. TikTok is under increased investigation because to concerns that China could use it to spy on or influence its more than 1 billion global users, many of whom are young, as well as data privacy concerns. The move comes amid deteriorating geopolitical relations between China and several Western countries, including Canada and the United States. According to the Office of Management and Budget, the White House stated on Monday that US government entities had 30 days to guarantee the program was deleted from federal devices and systems. In reaction, China's Foreign Ministry told reporters on Tuesday that the move revealed Washington's insecurity.
"How unsure of itself can the world's top superpower be to fear a young people's favorite app?" said Mao Ning, a spokesman for the Chinese government. Such prohibitions, she added, were an abuse of state authority and "exaggerated the concept of national security," and she asked the US government to "respect the principles of market economy and fair competition."
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters on Monday that removing the app from government devices will also help ordinary users "think on the security of their own data and possibly make decisions as a result."
He went on to say that the ban on government-issued gadgets "may be a first step, but it might be the only step" that the government needed to do. Ties between Ottawa and Beijing have been strained in recent years, especially over a suspected Chinese spy balloon that just violated Canadian airspace and suspicions of election involvement by China in 2021.
Separately, Canada's federal privacy watchdog and its provincial counterparts in British Columbia, Alberta, and Quebec announced this month a joint inquiry into TikTok to determine whether "the organization's actions are in line with Canadian privacy rules."
In an emailed statement, a TikTok representative stated that Canada made its decision "without expressing any specific security issue or contacting us with inquiries," and that it was "strange" that the move occurred only after the United States and the European Union took similar moves.
"We are always available to meet with our government authorities to discuss how we protect the privacy and security of Canadians, but singling out TikTok in this way does nothing to advance that shared aim. All it does is block authorities from communicating with the public on a platform that millions of Canadians enjoy."
Although TikTok is a private firm with Western investors and worldwide operations, its parent company, ByteDance, is headquartered in Beijing. Western lawmakers have voiced concerns that the company's ownership structure exposes it to surveillance and censorship, which TikTok dismisses. TikTok has previously stated that the information it obtains from user activity is not unique and that it is not affected by the Chinese government.
ByteDance suspended four workers in December after an internal investigation revealed that they had tracked two American journalists and their connections while attempting to identify a company leak. TikTok has frequently stated that personnel in ByteDance's Beijing office are not permitted to view American data. Last year, Congress slapped a blanket ban on the app for all federal employees using government-provided smartphones, citing "high risk" security concerns, and more than two dozen states have enacted similar legislation.
The software has also been blocked on official mobile devices at the White House, most branches of the military, and other federal agencies, including the Departments of Homeland Security and State. But, government employees can continue to use TikTok on their personal devices. Because of security concerns, the European Commission also took steps this month to prohibit its employees from using TikTok on work devices as well as personal devices that had business-related apps loaded. Denmark's Parliament warned its legislators on Tuesday to delete TikTok from their work phones, citing "a risk of espionage."
Despite governments' efforts to remove TikTok from official devices, the app remains extremely popular. According to The Washington Post, the average American viewer watches TikTok for 80 minutes each day, which is higher than the time spent on Facebook and Instagram combined.
