Canadian Government Bans TikTok’s Canadian Operations, but Not Its App ⇥ cbc.ca

Catharine Tunney, CBC News:

Citing national security concerns, the federal government has ordered TikTok to close its Canadian operations — but users will still be able to access the popular app.

My position is that TikTok should not be banned; instead, governments should focus on comprehensive privacy legislation to protect users from all avenues of data exploitation. So it is kind of a good thing the Canadian government is not prohibiting the app or users’ access — except the government’s position appears to be entirely contradictory. It is very worried about user privacy:

Former CSIS director David Vigneault told CBC News it’s “very clear” from the app’s design that data gleaned from its users “is available to the government of China” and its large-scale data harvesting goals.

But laws drawn up in 2022 which would restrict these practices have been stuck in committee since May. So there is an ostensibly dangerous app posing a risk to Canadians, and the government’s response is to let people keep using it while shutting down the company’s offices? The Standing Committee on Industry and Technology had better get moving.