Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has stated that while the government is currently not considering a ban on the popular social media app TikTok, Canadians should take heed of warnings issued by the country’s intelligence director.
Vigneault stated, “There is a very clear strategy on the part of the government of China to be able to acquire personal information from anyone around the world. I would absolutely not recommend someone have TikTok.”
Related Stories
Trudeau highlighted that TikTok has been prohibited from government devices since 2023.
He stated, “We have already taken steps to ensure that all federal computers and phones are not equipped with the TikTok app. This is a risk we cannot afford for our government.”
Public Safety Canada noted that TikTok has a significant user base among younger audiences, with a report from Toronto Metropolitan University indicating a 76 percent increase in Canadian users aged 18 to 24 with TikTok accounts since 2020.
US Legislation on TikTok
Trudeau mentioned that the Canadian government will monitor developments in the United States following the passage of legislation that could compel ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a ban on U.S. app stores and hosting services in January 2025.
TikTok is challenging the U.S. government over the law, arguing that it is “unconstitutional.”
“With the recent actions taken by the United States, we are eager to see how TikTok responds,” Trudeau stated. “We will observe any changes that may make TikTok a safer platform.”
He also emphasized the importance of being cautious about online activities, stating, “The concerns are that the data that Tiktok collects on all of its users gets simply funnelled to the government of China and is used potentially for nefarious purposes.”
Andrew Thornebrooke and Terri Wu contributed to this report.
Please rewrite the following sentence for me.
Source link
