'I would absolutely not recommend': Canadian intelligence chief warns against using TikTok

Security and intelligence officials have expressed concerns that the Chinese government has access to millions of users’ data on TikTok.

Canadian intelligence chief David Vigneault has become the latest Western official to warn against the use of Chinese-owned social media app TikTok.

In an interview with CBC News, Vigneault said he would “absolutely not recommend someone” to use TikTok. He further said that it was part of China’s plan to acquire personal information of people across the world.

“My answer as director of [the Canadian Security Intelligence Service] is that there is a very clear strategy on the part of the government of China … to be able to acquire … personal information from anyone around the world,” said CSIS Director Vigneault.

The CSIS is the foreign intelligence agency of Canada. Vigneault’s comments come weeks after the United States enacted a law that would force a sale of TikTok by its Chinese owner ByteDance if the app had to remain functional in the US. If the sale wouldn’t happen, the app will be banned.

Recently, security and intelligence officials have expressed concerns that the Chinese government has access to millions of users’ data on TikTok.

They are concerned not just about data security but also about potential misinformation and disinformation campaigns mounted through Twitter along with attempts to use the platform to influence elections and foment discontent with the object of undermining countries China considers adversarial.