TikTok plans to fight ban in court
HERE IS WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
- The Canadian government orders TikTok to close its offices here.
- This does not affect people using the app.
- The government says this is for national security reasons.
- TikTok says it plans to fight back in court.
Canada’s government says it is concerned that TikTok could harm our national security.
So on Tuesday, it announced it was kicking the company out of the country — sort of.
TikTok’s offices in Toronto, Ontario and Vancouver, British Columbia will have to close. The government has not said when that will happen.
TikTok did not address the claim that it is a security threat in a statement published on November 6. However, it said it would challenge the decision.
The Canadian government says the app will still be available in Canada.
Why is the government doing this?
Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne told CBC News the decision was made based on “analysis with security services.”
He said the government came to the conclusion that TikTok’s activities in Canada “would be harmful to national security,” he told CBC News.
Harmful means that it can cause harm or damage.
When you use TikTok, it collects information like your contacts, your calendar, and your location. The Chinese government can collect that information. (Image credit: Seth Wenig/The Associated Press)
The government did not specify the risks in a press release published on November 6, but it linked to a website outlining the downsides of social media apps in general.
Some apps can give individuals and groups who want to do harm access to your personal information and devices, the government said on the website.
It’s no secret that TikTok, like other social media apps, collects information about its users.
When you use TikTok, for example, it collects information like your contacts, your calendar, and your location.
Find out more about what information TikTok knows about you here.
Or listen to KN contributor Isabelle MacNeil describe the data TikTok collects:
Concerns about the Chinese government accessing your data
TikTok is owned by a company called ByteDance, which is based in Beijing, China.
The information users share on TikTok “is available to the Chinese government,” former head of Canadian national security intelligence David Vigneault told CBC News.
This is because China has laws that require companies to share user data with the government.
These rules prevent users from knowing their data is being shared.
A TikTok spokesperson previously told CBC Kids News via email that “TikTok has never provided Canadian user data to the Chinese government, nor would we if asked.”
But that didn’t stop the Canadian government from forcing federal officials to remove the app from their phones by 2023.
In recent years, tensions have risen among the Chinese government, Canada and Canadian allies.
China has been accused of meddling in Canada’s 2019 federal election.
Need to delete TikTok?
It’s up to you to decide whether to continue using TikTok, Champagne said. It is a “personal choice”.
But it is important to “assess the possible risks,” he added.
That includes considering how your personal information will be used and shared to benefit a foreign government, Champagne said.
TikTok said closing TikTok’s Canadian office would affect “hundreds” of jobs.
The company said it would “challenge this order in court.”
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With files from CBC News
TOP IMAGE CREDIT: Michael Dwyer/The Associated Press
