Canada is banning TikTok from all government-issued devices.
As of Tuesday (28.02.23), the move has been made following the nation's chief information officer review while a government spokesperson said the platform "presents an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security".
The European Commission recently announced a similar ban, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau insisted there was ample security concern around the app to justify the decision.
He said: "This may the first step, this may be the only step we need to take."
The video app - which is owned by Chinese firm ByteDance Ltd - has faced criticism over its use of personal information and links to the Chinese government.
The company has insisted Chinese government official do not have access to user data, while a Chinese version of the platform is separate from the one used globally.
However, the company admitted last year that some staff in China is able to access European users' data.
In a statement, Mona Fortier - the president of Canada's Treasury Board - said the government remains "committed to keeping government information secure".
She added: "On a mobile device, TikTok's data collection methods provide considerable access to the contents of the phone.
"While the risks of using this application are clear, we have no evidence at this point that government information has been compromised."
A TikTok spoesperson said the ban has been put in place "without citing any specific security concerns about TikTok or contacting us to discuss any concern prior to making this decision".
They added: "We are always available to meet with our government officials to discuss how we protect the privacy and security of Canadians, but singling out TikTok in this way does nothing to achieve that shared goal.
"All it does is prevent officials from reaching the public on a platform loved by millions of Canadians."
