Conservative Party leader Pierre Polivre has suspended his TikTok account. He expects lawmakers to follow suit, according to a spokesperson for his office.
As of Monday afternoon, the popular social media application Poilievre has more than 230,000 followers on its account.
But just hours after the government announced plans to ban the use of TikTok on all government-issued mobile devices starting Tuesday, the Conservative leader’s account disappeared from the application.
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In a statement, a Poilievre spokesperson confirmed that the Conservative leader had suspended his TikTok account.
“We will fully comply with the mandate to remove TikTok from government devices and will work to ensure that this ban is extended to include Congressional devices,” Sebastian Sukhamski said in a statement.
“The party leader and all Conservative caucus members will suspend their TikTok accounts and work with all parties to ensure Parliament is protected.”
Poilievre has the most followed account on the Conservative caucuses, but he’s not the only politician actively participating in the application. Conservative MP Melissa Landman boasts about 160,000 followers, and her caucus colleague Michael Barrett had over 10,000 before her account was suspended.
But the most followed member of parliament is NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, whose account has more than 878,000 followers and was still active as of Monday night.
Many Liberal MPs, including ministers Carolyn Bennett and Ahmed Hussen, also have TikTok accounts, but none have more than 10,000 followers.
After a review by Canada’s Chief Information Officer determined that the application “posed an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security,” the President of the Financial devices) announced a TikTok ban. she said.
Fortier explained that TikTok’s data collection methods on mobile devices provide “substantial access” to phone content.
“The risks of using this application are clear, but at this time there is no evidence that government information has been compromised,” she added.
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When pressed about the announcement at a news conference on Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the government was “carefully considering how to ensure Canadians stay safe online.”
“For public employees and government equipment, we think it’s better not to give them access to TikTok because people are concerned about their safety,” Trudeau said.
“This may be the first step. It may be the only step we should take.”
Meanwhile, Canadians can still make a “personal choice” when it comes to using the application, Fautier and Trudeau said.
The announcement comes just days after the European Commission announced on Thursday morning a complete ban on the use of applications on work phones, including personal devices registered with the Commission’s “Mobile Device Service”. was done later.
The app is also banned in India, and the US is currently considering legislation to ban TikTok because it could be used to spy on Americans and censor content.
Congress recently banned TikTok from most US government-issued devices, citing bipartisan security concerns, and the US military also banned the app on military devices.
The concerns clouding the social media platform stem from TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance.
The company has faced criticism from those who warn the Chinese government has access to user data, such as browsing history and location, thanks to a Chinese law that requires private companies to cooperate with Beijing if asked. There is
In a statement sent to Global News on Monday, a TikTok spokesperson questioned the timing of the government’s announcement.
“It is interesting that the Canadian government has moved to block TikTok on government-issued devices. Only after a similar ban is introduced,” the spokesperson said.
“While we can always meet with government officials to discuss how we can protect the privacy and security of Canadians, singleing out TikTok in this way will help us achieve that shared goal. Neither does it. It’s a platform beloved by millions of Canadians that simply prevents officials from being exposed to the public.”
Canada’s federal privacy watchdog also announced on Thursday that it would launch a joint investigation into TikTok with its three provincial counterparts.
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