Canada on Monday announced a ban on Chinese-owned social media app TikTok from government-issued devices, saying it presents an “unacceptable” level of risk to privacy and security, Reuters said.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters that his government was looking carefully at how to ensure Canadians’ online safety.
“This may be a first step, it may be the only step we need to take,” he said.
The ban would go into effect from Tuesday and federal employees would also be blocked from downloading the application in the future.
TikTok’s data collection methods provide considerable access to the contents of the phone, Treasury Board President Mona Fortier said in the statement.
“While the risks of using this application are clear, we have no evidence at this point that government information has been compromised,” she said.
