Sask. government follows in Ottawa's footsteps, bans TikTok app from government devices
The Government of Saskatchewan has chosen to side with the federal government and ban the social media app TikTok from all devices owned by the provincial government.
The video-focused social media platform is owned by Beijing-based internet technology company ByteDance. Chinese laws allow the country to demand access to user data.
Canadian politicians had to delete the app from their government-owned phones after the federal government and House of Commons both decided to ban it from their devices, citing security reasons.
The Saskatchewan government released a statement on Wednesday announcing it would ban the application from "all government-owned devices pending the results of the federal threat assessment."
"This direction applies to all ministries, Crowns and agencies, and is also being adopted by the government caucus."
Late Tuesday afternoon the Saskatchewan government had said in an email it hadn't decided whether it would follow the same route as the federal government.
It acknowledged the federal government's decision, and said officials were consulting the provincial Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner and the federal Chief Information Officer to determine how they will manage the app on government-owned devices.
Leader of the provincial opposition Carla Beck responded to questions about whether the NDP would also delete the app stating that she had heard the news just before speaking with reporters, and that she took TikTok off her phone for reasons unrelated to the security risks but the caucus would discuss it.
The City of Regina city manager Niki Anderson said that while staff hadn't been notified by email, the social media platform would be removed from employee cellphones in the next 24 hours.
Anderson said about five per cent of the 1,650 city cellphones have TikTok on them.
"Knowing that the province has done it, knowing that it's been done federally and that there are some valid concerns around it, we will be removing it from employees' cell phones," she said.
Provinces including British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Quebec have already moved to ban its use on government mobile devices as of Tuesday.
Mona Fortier, president of the Treasury Board in Ottawa, said in a statement that the chief information officer has determined the app "presents an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security."
"While the risks of using this application are clear, we have no evidence at this point that government information has been compromised."
The app was deleted and blocked on all federal government-issued mobile devices on Tuesday.
And the House of Commons rules mean the app must be removed from House-provided devices by Friday, though the ban does not require the app to be removed from personal devices.
