Ontario to ban TikTok from government devices

Why the Ontario government is banning TikTok The Ontario government has joined a growing list of Canadian entities banning TikTok because of potential cybersecurity risks.

The Ontario government announced Thursday it will ban the social media app TikTok from all government-issued devices.

Effective immediately, all PC party caucus members will also begin the removal of the application from all personal mobile devices, Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria, President of Ontario's Treasury Board announced Thursday.

“The decision to block the TikTok application from government-issued and personal devices is a proactive and precautionary approach to ensuring the protection of government data and networks,” Sarkaria said in a written statement.

“While no data breaches have occurred, our government takes all allegations and concerns about data integrity incredibly seriously," the statement continued.

As part of this ban, government advertising campaigns will also be removed from TikTok.

The move comes a week after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the app would be removed from all federally-issued government devices in an effort to mitigate cybersecurity risks.

The Ontario government is urging residents to “review the terms and conditions of any application they use to ensure they are making an informed decision about how those tools use information.”

The move comes a week after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the app would be removed from all federally-issued government devices in an effort to mitigate cybersecurity risks.

The Ontario government is urged residents in its statement to “review the terms and conditions of any application they use to ensure they are making an informed decision about how those tools use information.”

When reached for comment, a spokesperson for TikTok Canada called the move "disappointing."

"It's disappointing to see that the Ontario government has taken such an extreme approach to following the baseless trend of blocking TikTok on not only government-issued devices, ut also caucus members' personal devices, without citing any specific security concerns," the company said in a written statement issued to CP24.

"All it does is prevent officials from reaching the public on a platform loved by millions of Canadians."

The spokesperson said TikTok continues to be "ready and available" to meet with our government officials on privacy and security.