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Becca Monaghan
Feb 28, 2023
Canada bans TikTok on government-issued devices
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Canada has announced it will be following in the footsteps of the US and banning TikTok from all government-issued devices as of Tuesday (28 February).
The decision was finalised after a review by Canada's chief information officer. A government spokesperson said the app "presents an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security."
Prime minister Justin Trudeau said the security concerns around TikTok were enough to implement the ban. "This may be the first step, this may be the only step we need to take," he said on Monday (27 February) at a press conference.
TikTok has since acknowledged its decision and expressed its disappointment.
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They claimed the ban happened "without citing any specific security concerns about TikTok or contacting us to discuss any concern prior to making this decision".
"We are always available to meet with our government officials to discuss how we protect the privacy and security of Canadians, but singling out TikTok in this way does nothing to achieve that shared goal," they said.
"All it does is prevent officials from reaching the public on a platform loved by millions of Canadians."
Will TikTok be banned in the UK?
As for whether the UK will ban TikTok, Rishi Sunak has been resisting calls to ban government officials from using the platform.
Some Tory MPs have raised concerns about the app after similar bans were put in place in the US and Canada.
Alicia Kearns, the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee chairwoman, is leading the UK government's call to follow suit.
"We’ve now seen both the EU and the US take action on TikTok over security concerns: the acquisition of our personal data by a hostile state," she told The Telegraph.
"The government needs to review its policies and look to ban government officials and parliamentary staff from installing the app on any mobile phones utilised for work, if not any device."
Parliament’s TikTok account was shut down last year after MPs raised concerns about the firm’s links to China.
The app has nonetheless become increasingly popular among politicians in recent years, with some MPs amassing tens of thousands of followers.
Former health secretary and reality TV star Matt Hancock is a regular user while Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Grant Shapps also has an account.
A No 10 spokesman said that he was "not aware" of any ban on Downing Street staff using TikTok.
"We have got a TikTok account but I don’t think we’ve put anything on it for a little while now," he said. "It’s for individual departments and ministers to choose which social media platforms they want to use."
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said he did not have TikTok but warned it was important to be "careful" about any social media site.
"We should all be careful, whatever social media we use. They all collect data about us. There’s a phrase about the internet which is ‘If it’s free, it’s probably because you’re the product’. That is how these companies work," he told LBC.
"TikTok is overall owned by a Chinese company and I think if you put your data on there you are not just sharing it with the person publishing it. The caution is, be careful what you put on these things."
Meanwhile, Michelle Donelan, the minister at the helm of the U.K.'s new Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, told POLITICO he believes it's a "personal choice," adding: "As a Conservative, I strongly believe in personal choice."
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