Revelation comes after U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill Wednesday to ban TikTok unless its China-based owner sells its stake in the business
OTTAWA — The federal Liberals ordered a national security review of popular video app TikTok in September 2023 but did not disclose it publicly.
"We're watching, of course, the debate going on in the United States," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday when asked whether Canada would pursue a similar move. The minister's office said the cabinet order to launch the review was not accessible online, as is routine, because the information is protected and confidential under the Investment Canada Act.
"As you know, Canada made the determination that no government phones or devices can have the TikTok app. That’s a matter of security and safety," Trudeau said Thursday. A TikTok spokesperson said the company continues "to co-operate with the government’s review of TikTok’s investment in Canada." Under the law, certain investors have to notify the government when they acquire control of the Canadian business or establish a Canadian business. The industry minister can then launch a review by a sending a notice to the company, "saying that he has reasonable grounds to believe it could be injurious to national security," Zelikovitz said.
The Canadian review is not related to the proposed U.S. bill, which is driven by concerns that the company's current ownership structure is a national security threat.U.S. lawmakers contend ByteDance is beholden to the Chinese government, which could demand access to the data of TikTok's U.S. consumers, given Chinese national security laws that compel organizations to assist with intelligence gathering.
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