TikTok Under Joint Investigation by Canadian Privacy Protection Authorities

A visitor passes the TikTok exhibition stands at the Gamescom computer gaming fair in Cologne, Germany, on Aug. 25, 2022. Martin Meissner/AP Photo

The popular but controversial short-form video streaming application TikTok is under investigation by Canada’s federal privacy watchdog and three of the country’s provincial privacy commissioners over concerns about the app’s disclosure of users’ personal information.

The investigation will be undertaken by the office of federal Privacy Commissioner Philippe Dufresne, along with respective provincial privacy authorities for British Columbia, Alberta, and Quebec.

The launch of the investigation comes shortly after now-settled class-action lawsuits were launched in both the U.S. and Canada related to TikTok’s handling of personal information, says a Feb. 23 news release from Dufresne’s office.

“The four privacy regulators will examine whether the organization’s practices are in compliance with Canadian privacy legislation and in particular, whether valid and meaningful consent is being obtained for the collection, use and disclosure of personal information,” the release says.

“The investigation will also determine if the company is meeting its transparency obligations, particularly when collecting personal information from its users.”

Dufresne’s office also points out that a large proportion of TikTok’s users are children and says the investigation will “have a particular focus” on the app’s privacy practices as they relate to legal minors.

Specifically, the joint investigation will examine “whether the company obtained valid and meaningful consent from these users for the collection, use and disclosure of their personal information.”

TikTok says the “privacy and safety” of its users, particularly younger users, is “always a top priority.”

“We are committed to operating with transparency to earn and maintain the trust of the many Canadians who create and find joy on our platform,” a TikTok spokesperson told The Epoch Times.

“We welcome the opportunity to work with the federal and provincial privacy protection authorities to set the record straight on how we protect the privacy of Canadians.”

Privacy Concerns

TikTok is owned by Beijing-based tech company ByteDance and has previously drawn criticism and concern over the app being used to give user-data access to the Chinese government.

Over 28 American states and the U.S. federal government have banned TikTok from being downloaded on state-owned devices, and the U.S. armed forces have also prohibited the app on military devices.

Both Democrat and Republican representatives in the U.S. Congress have also recently reintroduced bipartisan legislation that would ban TikTok from operating within the United States.

The legislation, which was introduced on Feb. 17 by Reps. Mike Gallagher and Raja Krishnamoorthi, would aim to block and prohibit all transactions from TikTok and other social media companies in or under the control of China, Russia, and several other foreign countries.

In Europe, the European Commission and European Union Council have ordered staff to remove TikTok from their corporate devices and phones for cybersecurity reasons.

Members of the council, which gathers together representatives of member states to set policy priorities, will also have to uninstall TikTok from any of their personal devices that have access to council services.

Andrew Thornebrooke, Mimi Nguyen Ly, and Reuters contributed to this report.