At the NATO summit held in Madrid in June last year, the members of the Atlantic Alliance agreed on a new Strategic Concept that “the Russian Federation is the most direct and significant threat to the security, peace and stability of the Allies”. Euro-Atlantic region”. Likewise, it was pointed out that the new text portrays China as the main systemic competitor, along with its cyber operations, as well as its confrontational and disinformation rhetoric aimed at harming the security of the allies.

Regarding Chinese cyber operations, there are suspicions that the personal data of TikTok users, an application belonging to the Chinese company ByteDance, could be used by the Xi Jinping government. This fear has recently led to the EU as well as some Western countries – NATO members – banning the use of the popular social network on government electronic devices.

Canada has banned TikTok. Canadian Treasury Board Chairman Mona Fortier announced on Monday her decision to ban TikTok from being used on all government mobile devices. “The Canadian Government is committed to keeping government information safe,” she added.

Download prohibited. The measure, which went into effect on February 28, removes the app from all mobile devices and prevents future downloads. The statement also states that the Canadian Director of Information Systems considers TikTok to pose “an unacceptable level of privacy and security risk”.

Methods of collecting data under suspicion. In this sense, Fortier pointed out that TikTok’s data collection methods on a mobile phone “significantly” provide access to that phone’s content. However, despite the risks associated with using the app, the Chairman of the Canadian Treasury Council assured that the Canadian Board had no evidence that government information could be compromised.

Citizens will decide. On the other hand, regarding the use of this application by citizens, the Chairman of the Canadian Treasury Council pointed out that its use is a personal decision. However, he recalled that the Communications Security Agency’s Center for Cybersecurity Canada “strongly advises Canadians to understand the risks and make an informed choice on their own before deciding which tools to use.”

Trudeau is speaking. In the same line, Justin Trudeau also expressed himself, who did not confirm whether further measures will be taken against the use of TikTok. But the Canadian Prime Minister is optimistic about the impact of the ban on public opinion: “Many Canadians (…) will think about the security of their data and perhaps make choices,” he said. National Public Radio.

In this sense, Trudeau acknowledged that he favored providing citizens with the necessary information “to make the right decisions”.

There are investigations. The fact is, this decision was made five days after authorities specializing in privacy protection in Canada, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia announced that they had launched a joint investigation into TikTok for possible collection, use and disclosure of personal data. information of platform users.

The statement also noted that there are lawsuits against the application for the use of personal data of users in Canada and the United States. The government of the second country took a similar decision against TikTok.

Washington carries the token. This Monday, Shalanda Young, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, announced that federal agencies have a thirty-day deadline to ensure their employees do not have access to the app on the government’s mobile devices. Federal Chief of Information Security Chris DeRusha acknowledged that these guidelines are part of “our commitment to secure our digital infrastructure and protect the security and privacy of the American people.”

Following the example of Brussels. On the other hand, Canada and the USA followed in the footsteps of the European Commission, which announced last week that TikTok was banned on community electronic devices and corporate employees’ personal mobile phones. According to Brussels, the aim is to protect the European Commission from possible cyber attacks.

This is a decision months after TikTok reported that its employees in China had access to European users’ data.

Danish ban. Additionally, the Danish government asked lawmakers this week to stop using TikTok due to the “risk of espionage”.

TikTok responds. The application pointed out that the European veto was wrong and based on wrong ideas. Regarding Canada’s veto, The Guardian cites testimony from a petition spokesperson who questioned the decision and criticized the Canadian government for failing to contact TikTok to address potential security issues.

Beijing answers. On the other hand, China claimed that the US ban reflects this country’s distrust and violates the rules of the free market. According to Europa Press, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning assured that Washington should stop “pressing” foreign companies.

Uncertainty. On the other hand, two doubts arise regarding these measures. The first is whether there will be more countries that decide to ban TikTok’s use on government mobile devices, taking into account that, in addition to the aforementioned, Taiwan banned the use of the app on government devices in December 2022.

Blanket ban? Second, if this ban is to be extended to the general public. In this sense, it should not be forgotten that the Biden Administration canceled Donald Trump’s action decisions in June 2021 to ban the use of TikTok and WeChat nationwide. On the other hand, the government’s words rejecting such a veto indicate that a ban on TikTok’s public use will not be imposed, at least in the short term.

Context is important. These tensions are ultimately part of the restructuring that the world geopolitical scenario is going through. These bans on TikTok usage come days after China proposed a peace plan to end the war in Ukraine. .

Image: Unsplash / Solen Feyissa