Canada becomes latest government to implement TikTok ban

The TikTok bans continue to spread around the world.

In a statement on Monday, Mona Fortier, President of the Treasury Board in Canada, announced that TikTok will be banned from government devices starting on Tuesday, February 28th. Fortier says that the app is being banned “as a precaution” due to national security concerns that have been echoed by other governments around the world.

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

According to Canada’s Chief Information Officer, the app “presents an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security.” While the app will be removed from government devices starting tomorrow, the government did note that “we have no evidence at this point that government information has been compromised.”

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. 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 announcement comes a few days after the social media app was banned from government devices issued by the European Commission. TikTok has also faced similar bans in the United States that have also been limited to government devices, but the company is facing mounting pressure at the idea of a nationwide ban in the country.