Federal government departments are still allowed to advertise on TikTok despite mounting security concerns about the social media platform, CBC News has learned.
On Wednesday, the government ordered TikTok to shut down its two Canadian offices, citing “national security risks.”
It was the latest red flag raised by government officials about the app, which is owned by a Chinese company. In May, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) suggested TikTok is a threat to users’ data security, and in February 2023, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada launched an investigation into TikTok’s privacy policies. That same month, Ottawa banned the social media platform from all government devices due to privacy and security concerns.
Nevertheless, the federal government hasn’t barred its departments from continuing to use the app to run taxpayer-funded ad campaigns.
Ottawa’s policy has baffled some security and technology experts who say it sends a conflicting message to Canadians trying to assess if they face risks when using TikTok.
“[Ottawa’s] suggesting that they’re going to keep using the platform, but you should be wary of using the platform,” said Brett Caraway, an associate professor of media economics at the University of Toronto.
“The messaging here is just going in opposite directions.”
Julia Wong talks to video creators to find out how the ban impacts Canadians.
David Shipely, CEO of Fredericton-based Beauceron Security, a cybersecurity firm, agrees.
“I think it’s ridiculous — pick a lane,” he said, adding that if the government has concerns about TikTok, it should avoid doing business with the platform.
“If they don’t trust these guys, they shouldn’t trust these guys.”
CSIS director David Vigneault says using TikTok is risky and the potential for the government of China to access personal data from the social media platform poses a ‘threat to the way we live.’
After repeated CBC News inquiries since May, the government revealed its TikTok advertising policy on Friday evening.
Privy Council Office spokesperson Pierre-Alain Bujold said in an email that Ottawa currently isn’t running ads on TikTok and has no “immediate” plans to do so, but confirmed the door is still open to future campaigns on the app. CBC News asked why that’s the case in light of security concerns.
Following the publication of this story, Bujold responded that government departments have used TikTok “to reach key audiences, which may be more difficult to reach via advertising on other platforms.” He said that the government will continue to evaluate where it runs ads based on the target audience.
Bujold added that running ads on TikTok poses no security concerns for government devices, because an independent ad agency posts them on the app.
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