After the US and the European Commission banned their employees from installing the Chinese app TikTok on their devices for security reasons, Canada and the European Parliament are joining the ban.
From Tuesday, the Canadian government will ban federal employees from using the TikTok application on official mobile phones, according to the EFE agency, saying it poses an “unacceptable” risk to their privacy and security.
Mona Fortier, chair of the Treasury Board of Canada, the government agency responsible for overseeing federal employees, said in a statement that the app will be removed from all official phones starting Tuesday.
“Users of these devices will also be blocked from downloading the app in the future. After reviewing TikTok, the Canadian CIO found it to be an unacceptable risk to privacy and security.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a news conference Monday that while the government wants to respect Canadians’ right to freedom of expression, there are also “very important Canadian privacy and security principles.” .
“Like many countries around the world, we are carefully considering how to keep Canadians safe online. And the decision is that for security reasons it is best that government teams and officials cannot access TikTok,” he added. Justin Trudeau.
According to EFE, the European Parliament, like other European Union (EU) institutions, has decided to ban the Chinese application TikTok from its employees’ and deputies’ company phones, in addition to recommending that it not be used on private devices. to install.
This decision was taken by the European Parliament in response to “cybersecurity concerns”, namely in relation to data protection and data collection by third parties.
In addition, from March 20, web access to TikTok will be blocked via the European Parliament’s corporate network, meaning that corporate desktops and laptops will be used.
The United States was the first country to ban government officials from installing the app for fear that China could steal their information, as, according to Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, “any company doing business in China is subject to China’s national security laws.” requiring data to be handed over to the state is one of the reasons we should be very concerned.
Then, on February 23, the European Commission (EC) and the Council of the European Union (EU) announced that they will be phasing out TikTok on their official mobile devices at a time when they want to better protect security against the rise of cyber-attacks.
At a news conference, China’s foreign affairs spokesman Mao Ning criticized the US government for “abuse of its state power” and its “concept of national security” after announcing it would veto government devices TikTok, the network of Chinese social media platforms. origin.
He also said the US is “abuse” by “unjustly suppressing companies from other countries”. According to Mao Ning, the action shows “lack of self-confidence for fear of an app that is popular with young people”.
With information from EFE
Source: La Neta Neta
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
