New Brunswick bans TikTok on government-issued devices

New Brunswick is banning the Chinese video-sharing platform TikTok from all government-issued mobile devices effective immediately, according to a news release from the province Thursday.

The announcement follows the lead of the federal government, whichon Tuesday said the app was being removed and blocked from government devices.

New Brunswick is the last of the Atlantic provinces to implement the ban.

"The protection of personal information is of the utmost importance," Liz Byrne-Zwicker, chief information officer for the provincial government, said  in the release.

Beijing-based internet technology company ByteDance owns TikTok and its ownership has raised concerns at a time of heightened tensions between China and the West.

Last week, Canada's federal privacy regulator, along with three provincial counterparts, launched a joint probe of the platform's collection, use and disclosure of users' personal information. Canada's chief information officer determined the app "presents an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security."

She added that the decision was a precaution to ensure private information from the government "is not threatened."

The app will be wiped from government-issued devices and will be blocked from being downloaded.

Byrne-Zwicker said in the release that the data collection methods used by TikTok has been called into question by experts.

But she said there is no indication that any information from government devices has been compromised at the time.