Ontario bans TikTok on government devices
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Loading... - Karen Summers
- 20 Mar 2023
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Treasury Board president says ban is 'proactive and precautionary' move to protect government data
The Ontario government is banning the social media platform TikTok from all provincial government-issued devices effective immediately, the Treasury Board president said on Thursday.
Prabmeet Singh Sarkaria said in a statement that all government advertising campaigns will be removed from TikTok as part of the ban. As well, he said all Ontario Progressive Conservative party caucus members will be required to remove the application from all personal cell phones.
"The decision to block the TikTok application from government-issued and personal devices is a proactive and precautionary approach to ensuring the protection of government data and networks," he said in the statement.
"While no data breaches have occurred, our government takes all allegations and concerns about data integrity incredibly seriously."
He said the government encourages Ontario residents to review the terms and conditions of any application they use to ensure they are making an informed decision about how those platforms use information.
Ontario last province to impose ban
The move follows a similar ban announced by the federal government in late February. At the time, the government said security concerns were behind the move.
All provinces have since followed suit, with Ontario the last to announce its decision.
In a Feb. 27 email sent to Global Affairs employees in February, department officials attributed the decision to the chief information officer of Canada, saying it followed a review. Read More…
