In response to questions from reporters during a scrum on Parliament Hill, Trudeau said the Communications Security Establishment, Canada’s electronic intelligence agency, has kept its eye on TikTok while in the United States Republican lawmakers seek to ban the app in their jurisdictions.

The US is trying to ban TikTok

Republican Senator Marco Rubio on Tuesday announced a bipartisan bill to ban Uncle Sam’s TikTok.

The app has over a billion users worldwide.

The bill responds to growing concerns in the United States that ByteDance Ltd., owner of TikTok, could use the app to spy on or censor Americans.

Marco Rubio’s proposed law would block all transactions by social media companies in China and Russia or under the influence of those countries, the senator’s office said in a statement.

It would be an extension of existing US laws restricting access to TikTok.

In August 2020, the US Senate unanimously passed a bill that would ban federal employees from using the app on government-issued devices.

A TikTok spokesman said the company’s security plans in the United States were developed under the oversight of key US national security agencies.

” It is troubling that some members of Congress have decided to push for a politically motivated ban that will not improve states’ national security, rather than encouraging the government to complete its national security review of TikTok. »

In the post, the spokesperson added that TikTok has never provided Canadian user data to the Chinese government and would not do so if asked. Canadian user data is stored in data centers in the United States and Singapore, the spokesperson added.

NDP ethics critic Matthew Green said in an email to CBC that the party believes Canada has fallen behind its European peers on data protection. He did not call for a ban on the installation of TikTok on the devices of federal employees.

” While the New Democrats don’t believe a ban on TikTok should be flatly opposed, the government must first take steps to develop better regulation and work alongside our allies on privacy. »

NDP boss Jagmeet Singh has almost 900,000 followers on TikTok and uses the platform regularly.

Mr. Trudeau also said that the government see what the Americans are doing regarding US social media giant Twitter, which has come under intense scrutiny since billionaire Elon Musk completed his purchase of the company in October.