Canada Launches Latest TikTok Data Privacy Probe

Canada’s Privacy Commissioner has said the country is launching a joint federal and provincial investigation of TikTok over the privacy of personal data.

The federal privacy regulator is to work with regional counterparts in Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta to probe whether TikTok’s practices comply with Canadian privacy laws, the office said.

The agencies are to examine whether “valid and meaningful consent” is being obtained for the collection, use and disclosure of personal data, the commissioner’s office said in a statement.

TikTok said the privacy and safety of users “is always a top priority” and the probe was an opportunity to “set the record straight” on how the company protects the privacy of Canadians.

Government ban

The move comes after the European Commission and EU Council said late last week they were banning TikTok from staff phones on computer security grounds.

The US Senate in December passed a bill barring federal employees from using the app on government devices, and a number of US state governments have taken similar measures.

State-backed Chinese newspaper Global Times called the move a “fresh wave of the US-led political witch hunt” against TikTok and other Chinese tech firms.

“Such hegemony will not have a substantive impact on TikTok’s global market nor hinder the globalisation pace of Chinese tech firms,” the paper wrote.

Data security

Relations between China and Western countries have been deteriorating for years, with the US and other Western countries imposing sanctions on a range of Chinese tech firms in areas including 5G and advanced chipmaking deemed to pose a national security threat.

US legislators have voiced concerns that the data collected on users in the country, including young people, could be passed to the Chinese government.

TikTok has said it doesn’t pose a security threat.