Over Half of Canadians Support TikTok Ban Similar to Potential US Ban

The TikTok download screen is seen on an iPhone in the Apple store, in Ottawa on Oct. 18, 2023. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

A recent survey shows that more than half of Canadians are in favour of banning Chinese short-form video sharing app TikTok. Due to national security concerns, a bill with similar intentions just passed the U.S. House of Representatives.

Just over half of Canadians (51 percent) would support a potential ban on TikTok in Canada, while 28 percent would oppose it, the Leger survey found.

Moreover, over half of Canadians (56 percent) are aware of the potential national security risks associated with TikTok, while 38 percent are not, according to the survey results. Among those who are aware of the risks, three-quarters (72 percent) expressed concern, including 34 percent who were “very concerned” and 39 percent who were “somewhat concerned.”

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act in a bipartisan 352–65 vote on March 13.

If it passes into law, the bill will legally require TikTok to divest from China-based parent company ByteDance or face a ban on U.S. app stores and hosting services. The legislation is now before the U.S. Senate, and President Joe Biden has agreed to sign it into law if approved in the upper chamber.

The bill notes that TikTok and ByteDance pose “a significant threat to national security.“ Security experts have also described the app as an ”intelligence weapon“ for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and warned of its role in helping the regime spread pro-CCP propaganda, steal intellectual property, and obtain information on users.

Conducted between March 23 and March 25, the poll also surveyed Americans to find out their opinions on a possible TikTok ban. It found that 47 percent of U.S.  respondents support a ban and 34 percent oppose it.

Canadians aged 55 and older (81 percent) are more likely to express security concerns compared to those aged 35 to 54 (66 percent) and 18 to 34 (62 percent).

However, when asked if national security concerns have prompted a change in their use of TikTok, only 7 percent of users in both countries said they had completely stopped using the app. Some have reduced (21 percent) or become more cautious (16 percent) when using it, while 56 percent reported no change in their usage.

TikTok has around eight million users in Canada and over 100 million users in the United States.

‘Within the Control’ of Chinese Regime

In February 2023, Ottawa banned TikTok from all federal government-issued devices, citing concerns about the app’s data-collection methods, which could leave users vulnerable to cyberattacks. Following the federal ban, some provinces and territories also barred TikTok from their own government-issued devices.

More recently, the federal government revealed that it had ordered a national security review of TikTok in September 2023 without publicly disclosing the probe.

“This is still an ongoing case. We can’t comment further because of the confidentiality provisions of the Investment Canada Act,” a spokesperson for Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne told The Canadian Press in March.

FBI Director Christopher Wray has warned U.S. senators about the threat TikTok poses to national security.

“This is a tool that is ultimately within the control of the Chinese government, and it, to me, it screams out with national security concerns,” Mr. Wray said at a hearing before the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee on March 8, 2023.

U.S. lawmakers have raised concerns about ByteDance potentially granting the Chinese regime access to the data of TikTok’s U.S. users. Such concerns stems from China’s National Intelligence Law, which mandates organizations to assist with intelligence-gathering efforts.

David Lieber, head of TikTok’s privacy public policy for the Americas, confirmed that ByteDance has access to TikTok’s user data during his testimony before the House of Commons Ethics Committee on Oct. 18, 2023.

When asked by NDP MP Matthew Green whether TikTok has “a parent company in China that has access to user data,” Mr. Lieber responded “yes.”

Samantha Flom contributed to this report