The Canadian government announced on Monday (27) a ban, starting Tuesday, of the TikTok app on the mobile devices it provides to its employees, citing an “unacceptable level of risk” to privacy and security.

“On mobile devices, TikTok’s data collection methods provide considerable access to content on the phone,” Finance Minister Mona Fortier said, adding in a statement that the decision was taken “as a precaution”.

Also read: Italy may ban TikTok on civil servants’ phones

“At this time we have no reason to believe that government information has been compromised,” he added.

‘curious’ decision

A spokesperson for TikTok stated that the Canadian decision was “curious”, as it was taken “without mentioning any specific security concerns”, and regretted that the government had not contacted the company prior to the official announcement.

The popular viral short video platform, which is owned by China’s ByteDance, is increasingly being scrutinized by Western countries, which fear Beijing could use it to access user data worldwide.

The ban in Canada comes days after a similar decision by the European Commission, which banned the use of TikTok by its staff to “protect” the institution.

TikTok is also a concern of US authorities: a law ratified a few weeks ago by President Joe Biden prohibits the use of the app in the House and Senate, as well as on the devices of government officials.

Relations between China and Canada have deteriorated sharply in recent years, particularly after the arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in Ottawa at the request of the US in 2018.

The Privacy Commissioner of Canada, a nonpartisan public defender and member of Parliament, last week announced the start of an investigation into TikTok aimed at establishing its compliance with Canadian law.