Canada’s federal privacy watchdog has launched a joint investigation with three provincial counterparts into the controversial social media application TikTok.
The federal privacy commissioner announced Thursday that their office will join privacy watchdogs in Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta to “jointly investigate the short-form video streaming application,” a post on the federal watchdog’s website said.
“The investigation was initiated in the wake of now settled, class action lawsuits in the United States and Canada, as well as numerous media reports related to TikTok’s collection, use and disclosure of personal information,” it went on to say.
The regulators intend to dig into whether TikTok’s practices are “in compliance” with Canadian privacy legislation and whether “meaningful consent is being obtained for the collection, use and disclosure of personal information.”
“The investigation will also determine if the company is meeting its transparency obligations, particularly when collecting personal information from its users,” the statement continued.
The investigation will also have a special focus on the younger users who tend to dominate the application’s use in Canada.
A survey conducted by Toronto Metropolitan University’s Social Media Lab, which was released in September, found that just 26 per cent of all Canadians currently use TikTok.
However, 76 per cent of those aged 18-24 have an account on the platform, it revealed.
In a statement sent to Global News on Thursday, a spokesperson for TikTok said the “privacy and safety of the TikTok community,” particularly its “younger users,” is “always a top priority.”
“We are committed to operating with transparency to earn and maintain the trust of the many Canadians who create and find joy on our platform,” the spokesperson said.
“We welcome the opportunity to work with the federal and provincial privacy protection authorities to set the record straight on how we protect the privacy of Canadians.”
The investigation comes as Canadian MPs are set to launch a probe of their own into security concerns about the popular social media application.
The House of Commons ethics committee voted earlier this month to undertake a study into TikTok and other social media platforms’ use “of private information of Canadians for the objective of data harvesting” — though it’s unclear when the study will begin.
It all comes down to concerns about TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance.
The company has faced criticism from those who warn that the Chinese government could access user data, such as browsing history and location.
That’s because China has a law that requires private companies to co-operate with Beijing if asks.
These personal privacy and broader security concerns have led to a string of crackdowns on the use of the popular social media application, most recently from the European Commission, which banned the use of TikTok on its corporate devices Thursday morning.
The app has been banned in India, and the United States is currently considering legislation to ban TikTok amid fears it could be used to spy on Americans and censor content.
Congress also recently banned TikTok from most U.S. government-issued devices over bipartisan concerns about security, and the U.S. armed forces also have prohibited the app on military devices.
TikTok was the most-downloaded application in 2022, according to Forbes.