TikTok on government devices under assessment in Canada – National | 24CA News
Ottawa is weighing current strikes by allies that banned the controversial social media utility TikTok from authorities gadgets, however there’s no phrase but if an identical ban may occur right here.
The Treasury Board Secretariat, the nerve centre of federal authorities processes and functioning, stated in a press release despatched to Global News on Friday that it’s working with different departments to “ensure government information systems and networks remain secure and protected.”
“The Government of Canada is assessing the situation, including the legislative announcement by our U.S. allies, and recently the European Commission, and will determine next steps as necessary,” a spokesperson for TBS stated in a press release.
Global News had requested whether or not the company was contemplating banning the app on authorities gadgets.
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The European Commission introduced an outright ban on using the appliance on work telephones Thursday morning — together with private gadgets which are enrolled within the fee’s “mobile device service.”
The app has additionally been banned in India, and the United States is at present contemplating laws to ban TikTok amid fears it could possibly be used to spy on Americans and censor content material.
Congress additionally just lately banned TikTok from most U.S. government-issued gadgets over bipartisan issues about safety, and the U.S. armed forces even have prohibited the app on navy gadgets.
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 may entry person knowledge, similar to searching historical past and site — because of a Chinese legislation that requires non-public firms to cooperate with Beijing if requested.
Why is TikTok below investigation in Canada?
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 stated, 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.”
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Of explicit concern to the watchdogs is the privateness of the youthful Canadians, who dominate using 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 at present 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 fashionable social media utility 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 utility in 2022, in keeping with Forbes.
© 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
