OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada is launching a joint federal and provincial investigation into short-video app TikTok over concerns about the Chinese-owned platform’s collection, use and disclosure of personal information, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada said on Thursday.
The federal privacy regulator – as well as provincial counterparts in Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta – will examine whether TikTok’s practices are in compliance with Canadian privacy laws, the commissioner’s office said in a statement.
They will focus on examining “whether valid and meaningful consent is being obtained for the collection, use and disclosure of personal information,” according to the statement.
TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance Ltd, is under scrutiny from governments and regulators because of concerns that Beijing could use its app to harvest users’ data or advance its interests.
Canada has also accused China of trying to influence its elections and of running surveillance activities, allegations that are denied by Beijing.
The European Union’s two biggest policy-making institutions have banned TikTok from staff phones, while the U.S. Senate in December passed a bill to bar federal employees from using the app on government-owned devices.
(Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
