Singh will pause TikTok use as Canada’s ban for government devices kicks in – National | 24CA News
Canada’s ban on the usage of the favored however controversial short-form video software TikTok has come into impact for government-issued cell units.
And the nation’s hottest politician on the app, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, is now planning to pause his use of the social media platform as he “evaluates the privacy risks.”
Singh, who has greater than 870,000 followers on the appliance, additionally “won’t be using it on any government devices,” an NDP supply mentioned.
Treasury Board President Mona Fortier introduced the ban on Monday, citing the dangers the app poses to privateness and safety.
“Following a review of TikTok, the Chief Information Officer of Canada determined that it presents an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security,” Fortier mentioned in a press release.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, when pressed in regards to the ban, mentioned it “may be a first step” or it “may be the only step we need to take.”
Canadians, in the meantime, can proceed to make a “personal choice” in the case of whether or not to make use of the appliance, each Fortier and Trudeau mentioned.
“I suspect that as government takes the significant step of telling all employees that they can no longer use TikTok on their work phones, many Canadians, from businesses to private individuals, will reflect on the security of their own data and perhaps make choices in consequence,” the prime minister mentioned.
The Conservative Party did precisely that on Monday night, with a celebration spokesperson confirming members of the caucus will droop their use of the appliance.
Leader Pierre Poilievre additionally suspended his personal account, which had grown to over 230,000 followers.
The choice to ban the favored app on government-issued units comes after a number of different governing our bodies have made related selections.
On Thursday morning, the European Commission introduced an outright ban on the usage of the appliance on its work telephones — together with private units which are enrolled within the fee’s “mobile device service.”
Just hours after Canada introduced the ban, Washington issued an identical directive. All U.S. federal companies have been given 30 days to wipe TikTok from their authorities units.
The app has additionally been banned in India, and the United States is presently contemplating laws to ban TikTok altogether amid fears it could possibly be used to spy on Americans and censor content material.
The issues clouding the social media platform stem from TikTok’s Chinese guardian firm, ByteDance.
The firm has confronted criticism from those that warn that China’s authorities might entry person knowledge, resembling looking historical past and placement — because of a Chinese regulation that requires non-public corporations to cooperate with Beijing if requested.
In a press release despatched to Global News on Monday, a spokesperson for TikTok questioned the timing of the federal government’s announcement.
“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 spokesperson mentioned.
“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.”
The software, in the meantime, is going through growing scrutiny from a number of Canadian probes.
Canada’s federal privateness watchdog additionally introduced on Thursday that it’s launching a joint investigation into TikTok with three provincial counterparts.
The investigation, the privateness commissioner’s workplace mentioned, will dig into whether or not TikTok’s practices are “in compliance” with Canadian privateness laws and whether or not “meaningful consent is being obtained for the collection, use and disclosure of personal information.”
Of specific concern to the watchdogs is the privateness of the youthful Canadians, who dominate the usage of the appliance within the nation.
A survey carried out by Toronto Metropolitan University’s Social Media Lab, launched in September, discovered that simply 26 per cent of all Canadians presently use TikTok. However, 76 per cent of these aged 18-24 have an account on the platform, it revealed.
Canadian MPs are additionally set to probe safety issues in regards to the well-liked social media software at a parliamentary committee.
The House of Commons ethics committee voted earlier this month to undertake a examine into TikTok and different social media platforms’ use “of private information of Canadians for the objective of data harvesting.”
TikTok was the most-downloaded software in 2022, based on Forbes.
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
