The Canadian government announced on Monday (27) the ban, starting Tuesday, of the TikTok application on the mobile devices it provides to its employees, citing “an unacceptable level of risk” to privacy and security. .

“On a mobile device, TikTok’s data collection methods provide considerable access to content on the phone,” Treasury Minister Mona Fortier said, adding in a statement that the decision was made “as a precautionary measure.” .

Also read: Italy could ban TikTok on civil servants’ cellphones

“We have no reason to believe at this time that any government information has been compromised,” he added.

“curious” decision

A TikTok spokeswoman said the Canadian decision was “curious” because it was made “without citing any specific security concerns”, and regretted that the government did not contact the company before the announcement official.

The popular viral short-video platform, owned by China’s ByteDance, has come under increasing scrutiny from Western countries, who fear Beijing is using it to access user data around the world.

This ban in Canada comes days after a similar decision by the European Commission, which banned the use of TikTok by its staff to “protect” the institution.

TikTok is also in the sights of the American authorities: a law ratified a few weeks ago by President Joe Biden prohibits the use of the application in the House of Representatives and the Senate, as well as on the devices of government officials.

Relations between China and Canada have deteriorated sharply in recent years, notably following the arrest by Ottawa, at the request of the United States, of Huawei’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, in 2018.

The Privacy Commissioner of Canada, a nonpartisan public defender and MP, announced last week an investigation into TikTok aimed at establishing its compliance with Canadian law.