TikTok is facing a joint investigation from Canadian privacy watchdogs – National
Canada’s federal privacy watchdog has launched a joint investigation with three provincial authorities into the controversial social media application TikTok.
The Federal Privacy Commission announced Thursday that their offices will join privacy watchdogs in Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta to “jointly investigate short-form video streaming applications.”
“The investigation was launched following a class action lawsuit that was settled in the United States and Canada, as well as numerous media reports related to TikTok’s collection, use and disclosure of personal information.
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The regulator plans to delve into whether TikTok’s practices “comply” with Canadian privacy laws and whether “meaningful consent has been obtained for the collection, use and disclosure of personal information.”
“The investigation will also determine whether the company is meeting its transparency obligations, particularly when collecting personal information from its users,” the statement continued.
The study will also focus specifically on younger users, who tend to dominate application usage in Canada.
The move comes at a time when Canadian lawmakers are set to launch their own investigation into security concerns about a popular social media application.
Earlier this month, the House Ethics Committee voted to launch an investigation into TikTok and other social media platforms’ use of “personal information of Canadians for data collection purposes.”
The heart of the concern is TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance.
The company has faced criticism from those warning that the Chinese government could access user data such as browsing history and location.
That’s because China has laws that require private companies to cooperate with Beijing if requested.
— more to come
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