On this bonus episode of What occurred to…?, Erica Vella appears to be like at ongoing safety considerations that encompass the short-form video app TikTok.
TikTok is without doubt one of the hottest apps around the globe, with a couple of billion folks utilizing the app every month, however in February, Canada’s federal authorities introduced a ban of the app on authorities gadgets.
It’s a transfer a number of nations have made in current months.
“I believe the considerations are kind of twofold. It does all form of tie again to the possession construction — ByteDance, like many Chinese language corporations, the Chinese language Communist Celebration has some kind of illustration throughout the firm,” stated Brett Caraway, a professor of media economics on the College of Toronto.
“I believe that a number of the considerations which can be circulating round ByteDance and TikTok proper now are very a lot a part of a kind of escalation in tensions between China and the West…. There are considerations across the quantity of knowledge or knowledge {that a} platform like TikTok … collects.”
On Feb. 27, Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau introduced the Canadian authorities would ban TikTok on all government-issued cellular gadgets.
“We’re making the choice that for presidency workers and authorities gear, it’s higher to not have them entry TikTok due to the considerations folks have over security,” Trudeau stated.
“This can be a primary step and it might be the one step we have to take however each step of the best way we’re going to be ensuring we’re conserving Canadians secure.”
The chief info officer of Canada decided that TikTok presents an unacceptable stage of danger to privateness and safety.
“The choice to take away and block TikTok from authorities cellular gadgets is being taken as a precaution, notably given considerations concerning the authorized regime that governs the knowledge collected from cellular gadgets, and is in step with the strategy of our worldwide companions,” then-Treasury Board president Mona Fortier stated in an announcement on the time.
“On a cellular gadget, TikTok’s knowledge assortment strategies present appreciable entry to the contents of the telephone. Whereas the dangers of utilizing this software are clear, now we have no proof at this level that authorities info has been compromised.”
TikTok has maintained the app isn’t distinctive within the quantity of knowledge it collects and all social media firms must be checked out with the identical scrutiny.
TikTok says it follows the legal guidelines the place it operates — in Canada, it follows Canadian privateness legislation by means of the Private Info Safety and Digital Paperwork Act.
On this episode of What occurred to…?, Erica Vella speaks with specialists about whether or not these considerations are reliable and if related measures will probably be taken in opposition to different social media apps.
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