Quebec is following within the footsteps of the federal authorities and is banning the set up and use of the TikTok app on authorities cell units as of Tuesday.
The Minister of Cybersecurity and Digital, Eric Caire, introduced the brand new tips Monday night after Ottawa already mentioned the cell app can be banned from authorities units starting Feb. 28.
“The ban is preventive in nature and there’s no proof {that a} international nation is spying on authorities workers by this software,” Caire mentioned in an announcement.
“The safety of knowledge and the safety of information held by public administration our bodies stay a prime precedence for the Quebec authorities and that’s the reason we’re adopting this safety measure.”
He added that analysis and evaluation executed on the usage of TikTok makes it vital to use the precautionary precept.
Nonetheless, the minister mentioned that “the usage of social media on a private foundation and on units not associated to the federal government stays a private alternative. Every consumer stays accountable for assessing the dangers.”
The federal authorities banned TikTok from its cell units days after federal and provincial privacy commissioners launched an investigation into the social media platform.
The choice follows a overview by Canada’s chief info officer, who decided that TikTok introduced an “unacceptable degree of threat to privateness and safety.”
Whereas the ban doesn’t go as far as to utterly ban the app in Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau mentioned it might encourage people and companies to consider the safety of their very own information.
The U.S. and the European Union not too long ago banned authorities personnel from utilizing TikTok on work units.
A TikTok spokesperson mentioned the social media firm is at all times open to assembly with authorities officers to debate the way it protects the privateness of Canadians.
“However pointing the finger at TikTok on this method does nothing to attain that frequent objective. All it does is forestall public officers from reaching the general public on a platform loved by thousands and thousands of Canadians,” the spokesperson mentioned in an electronic mail.
This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed in French on Feb. 27, 2023.
