The Canadian government argues TikTok collects too much information, so it bans the company and leaves the app available.
For about a year now, the mainstream media and the Canadian government have been pushing the conspiracy theory that TikTok is a Chinese government mind controlling device designed to control your thoughts in a way that benefits the Chinese government. Some were going so far as to make particularly frothy claims of China accessing your webcam and microphone and seeing and hearing everything going on in the room as part of their massive global spy program.
Obviously, these conspiracy theories were ridiculous and neither the media nor the government could come up with a shred of evidence. Instead, both the government and mainstream media just repeated claims of “security” and “privacy” “concerns” with vague hand waving gestures. Ultimately, these “concerns” came from the US government. So, it was especially telling that the US security establishment was asked to provide evidence of this massive TikTok conspiracy. In response, the security establishment came up empty-handed. This alone should have been enough to make it perfectly clear that attacking TikTok was a colossal waste of time and resources. Either provide actual evidence of these accusations or don’t bother. Unfortunately, the lack of evidence didn’t mean the end of the story.
Now, all of this is to say that China doesn’t engage in hacking and spying. The problem with tying TikTok to all of this is that it is unlikely the Chinese government is going to glean any useful information by knowing you happen to like funny cat video’s. This point was proven quite considerably when explosive reports came out about how China broke into AT&T’s wiretap systems, supposedly used only by the “good guys” and have been collecting huge swaths of personal information in the process. That, arguably, was a high value target because Chinese hackers could gain access to all of your web activities (depending on how you use the internet).
If that weren’t enough, more recent reports surfaced about how the Chinese government had gained access to government services as well. The access apparently was available to the Chinese government for years. Again, the potential for that being a high value target was much greater than someone liking funny cat video’s.
Another point in all of this that bears repeating is the fact that if the Canadian government was truly concerned about the collection of personal information by social media apps, they’d pass broad privacy reforms so that everyone operates under the same rules. Applying a single set of rules to one app does nothing to protect the privacy and security of Canadian’s.
Unfortunately, the Canadian government has precisely zero interest in protecting either as they continue to drag their feet on even half measures to protect people’s personal information. That’s the sad reality of where the Canadian government truly sits on issues surrounding privacy and security. Privacy reform is increasingly likely to die on the orderpaper and Canadians who have waited since at least 2018 for real privacy laws will have to wait even longer for the Canadian government to actually finally start give a flying fuck about this.
So, while everyone has been glued to the news of the US falling into a fascist dictatorship, the Canadian government has cynically chosen now to announce that they are banning TikTok… the company, not the app:
“As a result of a multi-step national security review process, which involves rigorous scrutiny by Canada’s national security and intelligence community, the Government of Canada has ordered the wind up of the Canadian business carried on by TikTok Technology Canada, Inc. The government is taking action to address the specific national security risks related to ByteDance Ltd.’s operations in Canada through the establishment of TikTok Technology Canada, Inc. The decision was based on the information and evidence collected over the course of the review and on the advice of Canada’s security and intelligence community and other government partners.
“The government is not blocking Canadians’ access to the TikTok application or their ability to create content. The decision to use a social media application or platform is a personal choice. It is important for Canadians to adopt good cyber security practices and assess the possible risks of using social media platforms and applications, including how their information is likely to be protected, managed, used and shared by foreign actors, as well as to be aware of which country’s laws apply. The government encourages Canadians to consult the guidance issued by Communications Security Establishment Canada’s Canadian Centre for Cyber Security to help them assess these risks.
“The government’s decision was made in accordance with the Investment Canada Act, which allows for the review of foreign investments that may be injurious to Canada’s national security. The government applies enhanced scrutiny to investments that fall within the jurisdiction of the Investment Canada Act for a number of business sectors and activities, including the interactive digital media sector as outlined in the March 2024 Policy Statement on Foreign Investment Review in the Interactive Digital Media Sector.
“While Canada continues to welcome foreign direct investment, the government will act decisively when investments threaten our national security.”
If there was ever a perfect example of pure performative nonsense done by the Canadian government, this is absolutely it. After taking consideration of the evidence of ¯_(ツ)/¯, the Canadian government has chosen to act on the privacy and security “concerns” of the app itself and chose to let it keep operating for the reason of ¯_(ツ)/¯. This while ordering the shutdown of the business operations for the convincing reason of ¯_(ツ)/¯. How is this move supposed to protect the privacy and security of Canadians in the first place? It’s obviously for the reason of ¯_(ツ)/¯.
So, what impact does this move actually have in the first place? Well, it means the employees who work for TikTok in Canada are out of the job. What’s more, it makes it more difficult for Canadian creators to earn a living (there might be ways for the company to operate out of the country to continue offering such services, but it likely will throw up more complications in the process). What’s more, it puts a huge dagger in the heart of all of the investment and promotion of Canadian content creation and Canadian creators. This really is a move that causes a whole bunch of problems while solving literally nothing.
Probably the most ironic thing of all is that the Canadian mainstream media, who repeatedly bash TikTok all day long, have quietly found out that the platform is the only platform of growth for the mainstream media companies in light of Meta dropping news links in response to a poorly thought out shakedown in the form of link taxes. It didn’t replace what they had before, but it’s better than nothing at least. Even they stand to get hurt by all of this.
It’s not just me that is not finding the logic to any of this. University law professor, Michael Geist, was equally baffled by this move:
There may well be good reasons to ban the app if it poses security and privacy risks that differ from those of other platforms, but banning the company rather than the app may actually make matters worse since the risks associated with the app will remain but the ability to hold the company accountable will be weakened.
The decision would also seem to undercut the government’s digital policies, including the Online Streaming Act (Bill C-11) and the Online Harms Act (Bill C-63). TikTok appeared before the Ethics Committee late last month on disinformation, intervened at the CRTC on the implementation of the Online Streaming Act, and would presumably have played a role in hearings on online harms (if those occur). Nothing stops the company from submitting to these processes from outside of the country, but it is hard to envision it prioritizing (or perhaps even complying) with Canadian regulatory processes if it is banned from formally operating in the jurisdiction. Moreover, TikTok will likely promote that it has spent significant money on Canadian cultural policy initiatives, with a particular focus on music and indigenous creators. Much like the Meta withdrawal from news and its associated agreements, it is similarly unlikely it will continue to provide that support in light of the corporate ban.
The government’s efforts to provide comprehensive privacy safeguards have stalled in the House of Commons and now face the prospect of not passing before an election call. This is due in part to the ill-advised decision to combine long-overdue privacy reforms with AI regulation. Today’s announcement doesn’t solve the larger privacy issue facing Canadians and may ironically make matters worse by weakening the ability to hold TikTok accountable for the privacy and security of Canadians.
Matt Hatfield of Open Media was also scratching his head with this one:
I don’t get it. This makes any real data privacy concerns worse!
But if there’s a true national security reason, we’re not being shown a shred of evidence.
Canadians should be treated like adults, not patted on the head and told our security establishment knows best. https://t.co/T5m64NR9NL
— Matt Hatfield (@matthtfld) November 7, 2024
I don’t get it. This makes any real data privacy concerns worse!
But if there’s a true national security reason, we’re not being shown a shred of evidence.
Canadians should be treated like adults, not patted on the head and told our security establishment knows best.
Scott Benzie of Digital First Canada was also perplexed:
https://twitter.com/SwBenzie/status/1854282284976812073\
1/2 This is a terrible decision that will only hurt Canadian Creators and Entrepreneurs. Canadians are already at a disadvantage when trying to talk to the platforms compared to their peers in the US. This makes zero sense.
David Fraser, AKA, Privacy Lawyer, was also not hesitant of giving this move a facepalm:
In another remarkably stupid move, the Gov't of Canada orders TikTok to shutter its Cdn subsidiary (which presumably writes the cheques to Cdn creators), but the app will still be available in Cda. I can't see how this does anything but harm creators. https://t.co/cd9GrskP92
— David T.S. Fraser (@privacylawyer) November 6, 2024
In another remarkably stupid move, the Gov’t of Canada orders TikTok to shutter its Cdn subsidiary (which presumably writes the cheques to Cdn creators), but the app will still be available in Cda. I can’t see how this does anything but harm creators.
Safety educator, Darren Laur, worries that this move would actually impede police investigations:
The downside from a law enforcement perspective – if police are investigating an incident that happened on TikTok, they could serve a Canadian court order on a Canadian brick and mortar business located in Canada.
Now, police will have to serve an order on TikTok main headquarters which is ByteDance Ltd., which is headquartered in Beijing, China.
Why is this important, because a Canadian court order has no legal jurisdiction in a country outside of Canada, especially in China – sigh!
Peter Menzies was also questioning the timing of all of this:
While all eyes were looking elsewhere, Canada orders …. What? https://t.co/oDAHQ1two4
— Peter Menzies (@Pagmenzies) November 7, 2024
While all eyes were looking elsewhere, Canada orders …. What?
So, I think it’s safe to say everyone is giving the Canadian government a collective facepalm in all of this. It’s hard to say what the Canadian government was even thinking with this move and timing it right when everyone was distracted by the disaster that unfolded in the US makes it all the more bizarre.
From a political perspective, I don’t know what the Canadian government gains from all of this. They might be alienating Canadian creators, but that’s about it. How that is politically advantageous is anyone’s guess – unless Justin Trudeau is trying to throw the next election of course.
Either way, nothing about this move makes any sense. It’s a purely performative move timed so that almost no one would notice it. Why? ¯_(ツ)_/¯.
