Trudeau Says People Are 'Concerned' About TikTok & That The Feds Are Watching 'Very Carefully'

A cybersecurity agency is keeping an eye on it. 👀

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Right: A phone with TikTok on it.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Right: A phone with TikTok on it.

Creator

In a recent reporter scrum in parliament, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that Canada is keeping an eye on TikTok.

And it isn't the only country watching the extremely popular social media platform either.

During the quick scrum, Trudeau was asked if the Canadian government is going to investigate TikTok over national security concerns.

Will TikTok be banned in Canada?

As of now, it seems that the Canadian government and security agencies are merely watching the situation with TikTok "carefully" with no plans to ban anything yet.

"We're watching what the Americans are doing and we're going to continue to make sure that Canadians are safe," said the Prime Minister to reporters.

Along with TikTok, he also mentioned that are "lots of questions" going on about the state of Twitter right now.

On the topic of government accounts potentially "infiltrating" the country through social media, Trudeau replied that "people are concerned about TikTok."

"I think people are obviously watching very carefully," said Trudeau.

"There's a range of ways we are active in keeping Canadians safe. The Communications Security Establishment is one of the best cyber security agencies in the world and they're watching very carefully."

This comes after recent moves in the United States to ban the video-based social media platform.

According to CBC News, Republican senator Marco Rubio has introduced a bill to ban TikTok due to concerns that its China-based ownership could lead to Americans being spied on or censored.

A supporter of the companion bill in the U.S., Republican Member of Congress Mike Gallagher, called it "digital fentanyl that's addicting Americans, collecting droves of their data and censuring their news." on Twitter.

As of June 2021, President Joe Biden directed a U.S. government agency to investigate security concerns about the app.

The fate of TikTok seems to be up in the air in both Canada and the United States right now.

So, just in case, get some of those TikTok dances in while you can.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.

  • Creator

    Tristan Wheeler (he/him) was a Toronto-based Creator for Narcity Media. He graduated from the University of British Columbia in 2020 where he was the Blog & Opinion Editor at the campus publication, The Ubyssey, for two years. Since then, his work has appeared in publications such as Curiocity, Maclean's, POV Magazine, and The Capital Daily, delving into topics such as film, media criticism, food & drink, podcasting, and more.

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