US and Canada ban TikTok on federal devices over “unacceptable” security risks

The US and Canadian governments are reportedly set to ban TikTok from all federal-issued devices over “unacceptable” security risks.

The social media giant, TikTok, is owned by Bytedance, a tech company the Chinese government has a considerable stake in, which has sparked controversy over security concerns across federal governments all over the world.

The European Union was one of the first governmental bodies to officially ban the app from all employee devices last week, citing “cybersecurity threats” as their reasoning. And now, the U.S and Canadian governments have reportedly followed suit.

The White House on Monday supposedly issued a deadline for government agencies across the country to make sure the app is not installed on any federal devices and systems. All agencies have 30 days to comply.

And the Canadian government has issued a ban of the app on all federal devices. This is amidst an investigation being launched into TikTok by Federal and Provincial privacy commissioners.

In a statement to The Canadian Press, the Treasury Board President of Canada, Mona Fortier, said the decision was followed by the Chief Information Officer of Canada who determined the app to “present an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security.”

Late last year, U.S President Joe Biden signed a bill to ban TikTok from federal devices over fears the app could be used to spy on Americans, and the bill passed.

Other government bodies have also followed the ban on federal devices. Namely, the Taiwanese government banned TikTok from all work-issued devices, and several Australian federal departments have issued bans on the app.

As of writing this, Bytedance has not responded to the latest bans of its app.