The World Briefly

March 01, 2023

The Shunning

Canada

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Canada banned TikTok from government-issued devices this week, following the lead of both the United States and the executive branch of the European Union amid concerns that the social media app poses security risks, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Mona Fortier, Canada’s minister responsible for the public service, said the decision came following a review which determined that the app “presents an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security.” She added that there were also concerns about the legal framework under which information is collected from mobile devices.

Even so, TikTok representatives countered that Canada issued the ban “without any specific security concern or contacting us with questions.”

Canada’s decision comes as the popular video-sharing app – owned by the China-based ByteDance Ltd. – is facing intense scrutiny from European and US officials over national security concerns.

Security officials worry that TikTok could be used to promote pro-Beijing views or sweep up users’ information.

The US federal government and a majority of states have issued similar bans stopping public employees from using TikTok on government-owned devices. Last month, the European Commission ordered staff to remove the app from work-issued devices.

Elsewhere, the Danish parliament urged lawmakers and parliamentary staff against having the app on their work devices, citing “a risk of espionage,” the Associated Press added.

In 2022, TikTok became the most downloaded app in the world and in the US for the third year in a row, according to analytics firm Apptopia.

This story originally appeared in the March 01, 2023 newsletter, Nintendo and Synagogues.