Canada has banned the use of TikTok on government mobile devices.

In a statement Mona Fortier, the president of the treasury board, said the chief information officer of Canada had decided that TikTok presents an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security.

The ban follows a joint investigation by Canadian federal and provincial governments over the platform’s data collection practices.

The decision to block TikTok is being taken as a precaution over concerns about how the video sharing platform uses and collects information from mobile devices. Fortier said that Tiktok’s data collection methods provide “considerable” access to the contents of mobile devices.

Commenting on the news, Fortier said: “While the risks of using this application are clear, we have no evidence at this point that government information has been compromised.”

She added: “For the broader public, the decision to use a social media application or platform is a personal choice. However, the Communications Security Establishment’s Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (Cyber Centre) guidance strongly recommends that Canadians understand the risks and make an informed choice on their own before deciding what tools to use.”

National Technology News has reached out to TikTok for comment.

The ban follows a similar one by the EU Commission where staff are unable to use the app on work devices over cybersecurity concerns.

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