Canada bans TikTok on government devices

TikTok has been banned from government-issued mobile devices in Canada, the country's Treasury Board announced Monday. Taking effect on February 28, this block follows similar actions taken by the European Commission and some state governments in the U.S.

The European Commission issued their directive to remove TikTok from government devices late last week. That same day, four Canadian privacy regulators announced that they would jointly investigate TikTok. Already, the chief information officer of Canada has determined that TikTok poses "an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security." Canadian officials haven't found any evidence that government data has been compromised, so this is considered a precautionary measure.

"The decision to remove and block TikTok from government mobile devices is being taken as a precaution, particularly given concerns about the legal regime that governs the information collected from mobile devices, and is in line with the approach of our international partners," said Treasury Board President Mona Fortier in a statement. "On a mobile device, TikTok’s data collection methods provide considerable access to the contents of the phone."

TikTok claims that the Canadian government did not reach out to discuss concerns about the app.

"It's curious that the Government of Canada has moved to block TikTok on government-issued devices -- without citing any specific security concern or contacting us with questions -- only after similar bans were introduced in the EU and the US," a TikTok spokesperson said in an email to TechCrunch. "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."