NDP’s Masse calls for investigation into X over data privacy concerns

Windsor West MP Brian Masse is calling for an investigation into social media giant X. CTV Windsor’s Chris Campbell has details.

Windsor West NDP MP Brian Masse has urged the privacy commissioner to investigate the potential risks of having X (formerly Twitter) on government devices and whether the platform could compromise Canadians’ personal information.

X collects user data—including posts, likes, bookmarks, and reposts, which Masse said is done without transparency about how that information is used.

“Billionaire Elon Musk uses X to campaign for his preferred political candidates,” said Masse in a news release.

“He has supported Trump’s idea of Canada becoming the 51st state of the United States. He also has considerable data from our elected officials and Canadians, and we need an investigation into what could be at risk regarding our national security, especially given where he stands on our sovereignty.”

“I think that given the fact that Elon Musk has taken such a radical position with regards to Canadian values for everything, from doing neo-Nazi salutes to attacks on supporting Canada as a 51st state, that that warrants an investigation,” Masse explained.

“We’ve had, in the past, our parliamentary devices scrubbed from DeepSeek, and also TikTok and other apps that were of concern. So I’m asking the privacy commissioner to say, why is it that we still have X that is in our data collection system, in our actual parliamentary devices, and they connect all through our entire system still available, and if it’s actually going to be controlled,” said Masse.

Masse added, “Not only does it push the social elements that are very disconcerting with regards to the platform and alt right view of the world, and it’s very much hate and they’ve scrubbed from it any type of censorship or fact checking with regards to what takes place. It also has the business application of streaming and data collection, that exposes not only our phones, but our computer systems and ultimately the Canadian public from that.”

“This is a reasonable request,” said London-based technology expert Carmi Levy. “It’s an important conversation to be having in 2025, and we really should have better standards, not just for TikTok, or for X, but for every other consumer grade app that government employees might be using.”

Levy said, “We should be asking this question of every platform that we deal with of course. However, the concerns are especially there given what’s happening with Elon Musk and his company in the news today.”

He noted, “Every time we download an app, it will pop up a request for permissions and in that terms of use statement, which of course most of us don’t read but should, it does state very explicitly what the company will collect and what it will do with that information once it collects it. So it’s on us to read these things and know what we’re getting into before we click the install button.”

“That’s why I have called on the privacy commissioner to investigate the impacts of having X on government devices so Canadians can have transparency into how their data is being used,” Masse added.

In a response back to Masse on Wednesday, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Phillippe Dufresne, said he will conduct an investigation into the platform and determine if it complies with Canadian personal information and privacy laws.

“I am writing to confirm that my office will conduct an investigation into whether the social media platform X complies with the Personal Information and Protection of Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) with respect to its collection, use, and disclosure of Canadians' personal information to train AI models,” the letter read.

“An investigator from the PIPEDA Compliance Directorate is being assigned to the file and will be in touch with you early next week to discuss next steps.”

Dufresne added that the concerns of having the platform on government devices is out of his jurisdiction, falling under the Board of Internal Economy of the House of Commons, the Treasury Board Secretariat, and the Commissioner of Canada elections. That will not be part of the commissioner’s investigation because of that.