(Montreal) Canada’s privacy commissioner announced Thursday that it has launched an investigation into TikTok’s compliance with Canadian laws, as the Chinese social network faces increased scrutiny from the West.
The news comes hours after the European Commission banned the application for its staff to “protect” the company.
The investigation “comes on the heels of now-settled class action lawsuits in the United States and Canada and numerous media reports”.
It aims to determine “whether the organization’s practices comply with Canadian privacy laws.”
Officials want to confirm that “TikTok has obtained valid consent for the collection, use and disclosure of personal information.”
The regulator pointed out that many users of the social network “are among minors”, “the importance of protecting children’s privacy”.
The investigation also aims to “ensure that the company fulfills its transparency obligations”.
The Chinese social network has come under increasing scrutiny from the West due to fears that Beijing could access user data around the world.
TikTok, owned by Chinese giant ByteDance, has been blocked by American authorities. The law, signed by President Joe Biden in January, bans the use of the popular video-sharing platform in the House of Representatives and Senate, as well as on the devices of public servants.
Relations between China and Canada have soured in recent years, particularly after Canada arrested Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Huawei, at the request of the United States in 2018.
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