NDP MP Jenny Kwan, speaking before the Hogue Commission, strongly urged Canada to follow the United States' lead in compelling TikTok, a Chinese-state controlled app, to alter its ownership structure to protect Canadian data from potential access by the Chinese government.
For the first time, a December 2022 report from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) on TikTok was presented as evidence, offering insight into the agency's concerns.
The CSIS Analytical Brief provided some of the most detailed non-classified Western intelligence on TikTok, outlining how its extensive data collection could be exploited for Chinese intelligence activities.
The heavily redacted report indicated that, despite parent company ByteDance’s assurances, significant amounts of sensitive user data from TikTok were accessible to China due to Beijing’s control over ByteDance’s operations.
This directly contradicted ByteDance's claims that TikTok's data were stored outside China, in locations such as the United States and Singapore. CSIS also revealed that ByteDance's internal audit team allegedly had plans to access U.S. users' GPS data without consent, exacerbating concerns about data misuse.
The report further noted TikTok's ability to learn and adapt to user behavior through AI-powered algorithms, which help it outperform rivals like Facebook and Twitter in engaging users with viral content. The platform's addictive nature, combined with its data collection, raised alarm bells within Canadian intelligence.
During her testimony, Kwan raised concerns about cross-border data transfers, particularly to authoritarian regimes that could potentially misuse the information. Kwan added that most Canadians are unaware of the risks posed by TikTok usage, acknowledging, "I didn't fully understand the security implications until I started researching this issue."
Meanwhile, Kwan expressed agreement with earlier testimony from Conservative MP Michael Chong, who called for a Parliamentary process to name the unidentified politicians accused of colluding with states, including China and India, in a June 2024 report from Canada’s intelligence review body, NSICOP.
Commissioner Hogue has stressed that her inquiry will not name the politicians accused of being witting or semi-witting participants in foreign interference.
Kwan said she understands the Hogue Commission has accepted the mandate of reviewing NSICOP’s allegations and making recommendations but argued that Parliament must clear the cloud of suspicion now hanging over all MPs.
“When I talk about being responsible parliamentarians,” Kwan told a Canadian government lawyer, “part of that job is to say in light of all of [the allegations], what do we need to do?”
sam@thebureau.news
I used to be a vehement supporter of a ban or forced sale to a domestic entity of TikTok, however in view of the alarming and seemingly coordinated attacks on free speech across the Western world as of late, I'm now much more in favour of having the public be informed about the risks but ultimately leaving it up to individuals to decide if they wish to engage with the app and its content. It's a bit of a tough call, additionally with there being no reciprocal market access for equivalent Western products in the PRC.
I don't have TicTok and feel better not knowing anything, seeing anything speaking anything or does that saying go see no evil, speak no evil,or hear no evil, it's better the later saying of the two, I'm having a good day