Will Canada ban TikTok? The answers might not satisfy a lot of Canadian Tiktokers if Canadian government will follow the advice of a recently released McDonald-Laurier report aimed at the Federal government.
Their new report suggests that “misinformation campaigns are a significant way that social-media app TikTok can be used to serve Beijing’s political goals, and Ottawa needs to confront this form of foreign interference in Canadian affairs.”
The report, authored by journalist and independent researcher Sze-Fung Lee, urges the Canadian government to follow the United States’ lead in addressing this issue. President Joe Biden recently signed a bill into law giving TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, one year to divest from the app or face a ban.
Lee’s report highlights the potential for influence operations on TikTok, especially given ByteDance’s Beijing headquarters and China’s laws requiring cooperation with national intelligence efforts. The report emphasizes concerns about misinformation and political manipulation, citing instances such as attempts to defame a political party in Taiwan.
Moreover, the report underscores TikTok’s strategic utility due to its short video format, which effectively amplifies political narratives while evoking emotional responses. Chinese regulations and algorithm recommendations, it notes, prioritize “positive energy” and crack down on content threatening national security, making TikTok a fertile ground for Beijing’s political messaging.
“Amidst the controversies over the “TikTok ban” is the struggle between free speech and concerns about Beijing’s malign use of the platform’s data to threaten national security and liberal democracies. Yet little research has delved into the question from Beijing’s perspective – how does the People’s Republic of China (PRC) view TikTok? What is the significance of the platform, and how does it differ from other Chinese and Western social media platforms such as Weibo, WeChat, Meta, and X in terms of digital surveillance and influence operations?,” — those are the questions that Sze-Fung Lee is pondering about.
Robert Diab, a law professor, comments that these concerns are not unique to TikTok, as any group can engage in influence operations on social media platforms. However, the ownership of TikTok by a Chinese company raises additional worries about government interference.
A Leger poll mentioned in the report reveals that a little over half of Canadians (51%) support a TikTok ban, with 66% of TikTok users expressing concerns about data privacy. The report flags TikTok’s extensive data collection practices, including the gathering of Media Access Control addresses, which cannot be reset or altered for at least 15 months.
Last month US President Joe Biden has signed a foreign aid package containing legislation that would enforce a ban on TikTok if its China-based parent company, ByteDance, does not divest the app within a year.
The bill, now enacted, initiates a countdown for ByteDance to take action. Initially, the company has nine months to negotiate a deal, with the possibility of a three-month extension granted by the president if deemed necessary to observe progress.
TikTok is a popular social media platform where users can create and share short-form videos, typically ranging from a few seconds to one minute in length. It’s known for its diverse range of content, including lip-syncing, dancing, comedy skits, educational content, and much more.