CANADIAN PRIVACY WATCHDOGS LAUNCHES PROBE INTO TIKTOK

Fri 24 February 2023:

Canada launched an investigation into social media giant TikTok on Thursday, amid concerns that its parent Chinese company may be collecting data on Canadians.

The announcement follows the settlement of class action lawsuits in Canada and the United States.

“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,” the privacy commissioner said in a statement.

The federal commissioner and his three provincial counterparts want to ensure that TikTok’s practices are “in compliance” with Canadian privacy rules.

The commissioners will also investigate whether “meaningful consent is being obtained for the collection, use and disclosure of personal information.”

“An important proportion of TikTok users are younger users,” the commissioners said. “Given the importance of protecting children’s privacy, the joint investigation will have a particular focus on TikTok’s privacy practices as they relate to younger users, including whether the company obtained valid and meaningful consent from these users for the collection, use and disclosure of their personal information.”

The privacy commissioners are particularly concerned about the company’s short-form in-video streaming. TikTok has a search feature that lets you searches by people’s faces.

TikTok is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, and the latter has engendered concerns that the Chinese government could access user data.

According to a TikTok spokesperson, the “privacy and safety of the TikTok community (is) always a top priority.”

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:

TWITTER (CLICK HERE)
https://twitter.com/IpIndependent