TikTok Being Watched ‘Very Carefully’ as US Moves to Restrict Access – PM Trudeau

Dec. 15, 2022: Canada’s communications spy agency is keeping a close tab on the Chinese social media application TikTok, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said today.
“People are watching very carefully; there’s a range of ways that we’re actively keeping Canadians safe,” he said in a scrum on Parliament Hill.
“The Communications Security Establishment (CSE) is one of the best cybersecurity agencies in the world, and they’re watching very carefully.” Trudeau was asked whether his government would investigate TikTok over national security concerns.
The U.S. Senate voted unanimously on Dec. 14 on a law banning the Chinese app from all government devices. The bill still needs to pass the House and be signed by the president. TikTok is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, which has been linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
A spokesperson for the company said that the move by the U.S. Senate is “politically motivated.”
For Canada, the spokesperson offered reassurance about the security of the platform. “We continue to have a constructive relationship with the Canadian government and engage across departments to demonstrate how we protect the security and privacy of Canadian users and to respond to any questions that officials may have,” said the spokesperson.
The company says Canadian user data is stored in the U.S. and Singapore, that it was never provided to the Chinese regime, and that it wouldn’t be if requested.
However, TikTok admitted in early November that its China-based staff could access users’ data stored in other countries. China also has a law to compel Chinese individuals and companies to help the regime in intelligence collection.
Twitter?
Prime Minister Trudeau was explicitly asked about TikTok during the media scrum, but he also mentioned Twitter, the social media company recently purchased and being transformed by Elon Musk. “We continue to watch carefully social media channels. There are many questions about Twitter going on right now,” “We’re watching what the Americans are doing, and we’re gonna continue to make sure Canadians are safe in the social media they use.” Trudeau said.
The U.S. government has expressed concerns about Musk’s takeover. “We’re all keeping a close eye on this,” White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said in late November.
Following Trudeau’s comment on Twitter to a question on TikTok, a reporter asked if there are any concerns about the potential infiltration of government accounts on “Twitter,” which he later admitted he meant to say “TikTok.” “I don’t know that Twitter is a problem,” said Trudeau, correcting the reporter.
There are concerns about TikTok in other Western countries, with a British minister addressing them earlier this week. Britain’s Security Minister Tom Tugendhat warned on Dec. 13 that TikTok, whose editorial board includes members of the ruling CCP, is set to influence elections with many young voters consuming news content on the platform. “The influence of social media platforms on our younger generations here in the UK and worldwide is pervasive. The contents on these platforms will influence minds,” he said.