Now Canada bans TikTok on govt-issued mobile devices

Toronto, Feb 28

Canada has become the latest country to ban Chinese short-video-making app TikTok from government-issued mobile devices.

The country joins the European Union and some state governments in the US in banning TikTok on government devices.

Mona Fortier, President of the Treasury Board, announced the ban of the use of the TikTok application on government-issued mobile devices

"Effective February 28, 2023, the TikTok application will be removed from government-issued mobile devices. Users of these devices will also be blocked from downloading the application in the future," Fortier said in a statement.

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 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," Fortier explained.

On a mobile device, TikTok's data collection methods provide considerable access to the contents of the phone.

"While the risks of using this application are clear, we have no evidence at this point that government information has been compromised," said the Canadian government.

The European Commission last week directed all employees to remove TikTok from their corporate devices.

The suspension also extends to workers' personal devices where they are used for work purposes.

The US House of Representatives recently ordered its staff to delete TikTok from official work devices.

In 2020, India banned TikTok and several other Chinese apps for allegedly sharing user data with China.