The Canadian government proceeded with a national security review of TikTok, the popular social media app, in September, though the decision wasn’t disclosed to the public, as reported by JURIST – News. The revelation came to light when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was questioned during a press conference in Windsor on Thursday.
Trudeau, while not providing specifics, expressed the government’s close observation of related events in the United States and refrained from commenting further on ongoing national security reviews. The disclosure comes amidst a US legislative effort to ban TikTok, with the House of Representatives passing a bill on March 13th that mandates TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, to halt its China-based operations due to privacy concerns. TikTok CEO, Shou Chew, has previously countered such claims during a congressional hearing.
TikTok was already prohibited on Canadian government mobile devices since February 2023 due to enough security concerns found in the social media platform’s data collection practices. However, no conclusive evidence was presented involving TikTok’s involvement in compromising government information.
The national security review of TikTok came into effect upon the expansion of the platform’s business, according to the office of Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, although it declined to disclose which features were being scrutinized. The national review and cabinet order are kept secret since they fall under the Investment Canada Act.