The Canadian government said Thursday it ordered a national security review of the popular social media app TikTok in September. The move was not made public until Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was asked about the national security review at a news conference in Windsor on Thursday.
Trudeau told a news conference that his government was “closely monitoring” events in the United States, before adding that he could not comment further on the ongoing national security review. The revelation comes as the US Congress attempts to pass a bill to ban TikTok. On March 13, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would force TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance to suspend operations in China over concerns about user data privacy. TikTok CEO Shou Chew previously defended TikTok and ByteDance against similar allegations in a Congressional hearing.
Canada already bans the use of TikTok on government cellphones. This policy was introduced in February 2023. Commissioner of the Treasury Board of Canada Mona Fortier. The government has not shown conclusive evidence that TikTok compromised government information, but claims TikTok's data collection methods raised enough security concerns to ban the app completely on government phones. did.
According to the Minister of Industry The office of François-Philippe Champagne has ordered a review of Canada's national security as the TikTok business expands. That said, Champagne's office declined to say specifically what aspects are under investigation. Because the information is protected under the Investment Canada Act, national reviews and ordinances are not accessible online.
