Ontario, Canada announced on Monday that it has banned TikTok from all government agencies for security reasons and it could be the start of a new crackdown, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said.
“This may be the first step, maybe the only step we have to take, but at every step we will ensure the safety of Canadians,” Trudeau told reporters on Monday.
“Obviously we take freedom of expression very seriously, the freedom that Canadians have online as they wish,” he said.
“But we also have very important principles around data protection, protecting the safety and security of Canadians that we will continue to improve.” The ban came into effect on Tuesday, February 28. TikTok is owned by Beijing-based tech company ByteDance and there have been concerns that the parent company allows the Chinese government to access private TikTok user information.
The move follows an investigation into TikTok announced by the Canadian government last week, which concluded that the app “poses an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security,” said Mona Fortier, president of the Council of Finance of Canada, in a press release. .
Canada’s ban follows in the footsteps of other governments. The European Commission and European Council have banned the app, and a majority of U.S. federal officials are barred from having the device on their government phones. The U.S. Congress is considering legislation that would ban TikTok nationwide .
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