Quebec follows federal lead, bans TikTok application on government cellphones

By The Canadian Press on February 28, 2023.

Quebec is banning the installation and use of the social media application TikTok on government cellphones as of today.

The province’s cybersecurity and digital technology minister announced the ban late yesterday, several hours after the federal government announced a similar ban.

Éric Caire said in a news release that the ban is preventative and that there’s no evidence a foreign government has used the application to spy on government employees.

He says the use of social media applications by government employees on their own devices, outside of their work, remains a personal choice.

The bans come after a review by the chief information officer of Canada, who determined that TikTok presents an unacceptable privacy and security risk.

TikTok said in an email that it is open to meeting with government officials to discus its privacy protections, adding that the bans will only prevent officials from reaching Canadians on its popular platform.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 28, 2023.

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