Under the pretext of data protection.. Canada bans the Tik Tok application, and America gives agencies a month to ban it on its government agencies

Yesterday, Monday, the Canadian government banned the TikTok application on all its phones and devices, citing concerns in terms of data protection, while the White House gave government agencies 30 days to ensure that there is no TikTok application on any of the devices or systems of the federal government.

And a statement from the Canadian government stated that starting today, Tuesday, “the TikTok application will be removed from government-granted mobile devices, and users of these devices will be prevented from downloading the application in the future.”

The government added that Canada's Chief Communications Officer "concluded that (the app) contained an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security."

Although there is no evidence of government data breaches associated with the app, the Canadian government has warned that "TikTok's data collection methods allow widespread access to phone contents."

A TikTok spokesperson was surprised by the Canadian decision to ban the app, noting that it was taken "without mentioning any specific security concerns" or consulting with the company.

Relations between China and Canada have deteriorated sharply in recent years, especially after Ottawa arrested - at the request of the US judiciary - a senior official in Huawei in 2018, and China responded to the move by arresting two Canadian citizens.

Last week, Canada's Privacy Commissioner opened an investigation targeting TikTok over the collection and use of users' personal information.

The Tik Tok application is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance (Shutterstock)

American deadline

In the same context, the White House yesterday, Monday, gave US government agencies 30 days to ensure that there is no TikTok application on any of the devices or systems of the federal government.

It will be required to amend information technology contracts to ensure that contractors protect US data by stopping the use of TikTok in devices and systems used in their work, Shalanda Young, director of the Office of Management and Budget for Governmental Agencies, said in a guidance note - seen by Reuters.

It is reported that last January, the US states of New Jersey and Ohio decided to ban the application of TikTok to government agencies in the two states.

This was preceded by the issuance of the US House of Representatives, on December 27, 2022, an internal memorandum in which it stipulated the need to delete the TikTok application from the phones of lawmakers and employees in the House, due to its security risks.

And the TikTok application - owned by the Chinese company ByteDance - has been under the microscope of the West for months, due to concerns about the extent of Beijing's access to user data.

Last week, the European Commission banned the application on its devices, after similar steps in the United States.