As a result of growing concerns from western officials regarding the Chinese-owned video sharing app, TikTok, Canada has stated that it will be banned from all government-issued mobile devices.
The Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, said that additional actions might or might not be taken. “I anticipate that many Canadians, from business to private citizens, will think about the security of their own data and possibly make decisions as the government takes the big step of not allowing TikTok on work phones for all federal employees,” said Trudeau.
“I’ve always believed in empowering Canadians with the knowledge they need to make the best decisions for themselves.”
“It’s strange that the government of Canada has decided to prohibit TikTok on government-issued devices without stating any specific security concern or getting in touch with us with concerns only after similar bans were implemented in the EU and the US,” a TikTok spokesman wrote in an email.
The European Parliament is next.
An EU official announced on Tuesday that the European Parliament, the newest EU institution to take this action, has chosen to prohibit TikTok on staff phones for security grounds.
The insider added that the decision is anticipated to be made public soon. The official stated that the prohibition will also apply to private devices having installed Parliament email and other network connectivity.
This week, the European Commission and the EU Council forbade TikTok from being used on staff phones, highlighting rising concerns about the ByteDance-owned company and the possibility that China’s government could use the app to collect user data or further its own objectives.
White House is under pressure.
While the Chinese-owned social media app is increasingly being scrutinized in Washington due to security concerns, the White House has given all federal agencies 30 days to remove TikTok from all government devices.
TikTok is already not permitted on White House devices.
The federal chief information security officer, Chris DeRusha, stated that the Biden-Harris administration had made significant investments in protecting our country’s digital infrastructure and limiting access to American citizens’ data by foreign adversaries.
Canada is the most recent nation to impose a ban on TikTok on devices provided by the government, claiming it poses an “unacceptable” level of risk to security and privacy.
The action highlights the growing opposition to the social networking app owned by ByteDance, the most valued start-up in the world, due to worries about its ties to the Chinese government and control over user data globally.
The following nations and organizations have either completely or partially banned TikTok:
In June 2020, India banned TikTok and dozens of other Chinese developers’ apps from all devices, citing a risk to the security and integrity of the nation.
The Taliban contend that TikTok and the video game PUBG are sending Afghan teenagers “astray,” thus Afghanistan is in talks to outlaw both.
Pakistan has at least four times banned TikTok, with the most recent ban expiring in November. The reason? According to the government, the app contains immoral and lewd content.
Taiwan banned TikTok and a few other Chinese apps from state-owned smartphones and opened an investigation into the social media app in December 2022 due to possible criminal activity on the island.
To prohibit TikTok on federal devices, the U.S. House passed a measure in December 2022.
Several American universities that have banned TikTok from use on campus devices and Wi-Fi networks include Boise State University, University of Oklahoma, University of Texas-Austin, and West Texas A&M University.
Texas, Maryland, Alabama, and Utah are just a few of the more than 25 U.S. states that have instructed employees not to use TikTok on official equipment.
Continental Commission
Due to security concerns, the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union, has issued an order prohibiting the use of the well-known Chinese app TikTok on the phones of its employees.
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