The Canadian federal government will ban video-sharing social media app TikTok owned by Chinese company ByteDance from all government mobile devices from March 1 over concerns the app’s data collection methods may leave users vulnerable to cyber attacks, according to a report by the National Post.
The report cited an internal note sent out to Global Affairs Canada employees on Monday which said the TikTok app will be automatically removed and blocked from use on all government-issued mobile devices.
“This decision was made by the Chief Information Officer of Canada to ensure the security and protection of government information systems and networks,” said the note, which was signed by GAC assistant deputy minister Stéphane Levesque, chief security officer Sébastien Beaulieu and chief information officer Jean Paul Donoghue.
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“A review of the mobile application’s behaviour in relation to the Policy on Service and Digital found that TikTok’s data collection methods may leave users vulnerable to cyber attacks.”
The federal government is expected to announce the new policy on February 28, the National Post reported.
This comes after the US Congress banned TikTok on federal government devices in late 2022, with limited exceptions for law enforcement, national security, and security research purposes.
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