Canada Officially Bans TikTok For Vulnerable Against Cyber Attacks

JAKARTA - The Canadian government has banned social media applications from China, TikTok, from all devices issued by the government from Tuesday, February 28. This was done because internal reviews show that the TikTok data collection method can make users vulnerable to cyber attacks.

This decision was taken to ensure the security of government information after an internal review showed that the TikTok data collection method could make users vulnerable to cyberattacks.

This also happened a few days after the European Commission imposed a similar ban. This shows that concerns over TikTok's relationship with the Chinese government and user data collection around the world are getting bigger.

Canadian and TikTok privacy commissioners did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters.

TikTok itself has been banned or removed from app stores in several countries around the world. Some of the countries include:

India: In June 2020, the Indian government officially banned TikTok along with 58 other applications originating from China.

United States: In August 2020, US President Donald Trump issued an executive order banning TikTok in the US, but the ban was suspended following a legal dispute and was eventually lifted by President Joe Biden in June 2021.

Pakistan: In October 2020, the Pakistani government banned TikTok for nearly two weeks for " indecent content" reasons.

Bangladesh: In March 2021, Bangladesh's top court ordered the government to ban TikTok because it was deemed "containing pornography, harassment and violence".

Iran: In May 2021, the Iranian government banned TikTok because it was deemed "threatening the morality and security of the country".

In addition, several other countries such as Indonesia, Italy, and Germany are also taking steps to limit access or monitor TikTok due to concerns about data privacy and its influence on children and adolescents.