‘I would absolutely not recommend’: Canadian intelligence chief warns against using TikTok, flags China’s plan to acquire data

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.

‘It’s a threat to the way we live’

Speaking about the ways in which TikTok affects the people, Vigneault said that it presents a threat to the way people live in Canada.

Vigneault said that the ultimate objective of objective in China is to protect the Communist Party of China (CPC). He added that China collects lots of resources to crunch the data of millions of users to use it against them.

“They’re using big data analytics, they have amazing computer farms crunching the data, they are developing artificial intelligence … based on using this data. The ultimate goal is always to protect the interests of the Chinese Communist Party. And so from that point of view, in many ways, this is a threat to the way we live,” said Vigneault.

Addressing the question of how such data collection may affect an average teenager, Vigneault said that the Chinese government will have lots of data about a teenager over the years and it may be used against them if they get into a confrontation with the Chinese regime later on.

“Well in five years, in 10 years, that teenager will be a young adult, will be engaged in different activities around the world. If you are, for whatever reason, getting in the crosshairs of the [People’s Republic of China], they will have a lot of information about you,” said Vigneault.

Canada has banned TikTok on government devices

Last year, the Canadian government banned TikTok on government devices.

“Following a review of TikTok, the Chief Information Officer of Canada determined that it presents an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security,” said a statement by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat at the time.

The US, European Commission, Australia, UK, Estonia, the Netherlands, and Belgium are some of the countries that have announced similar bans.

Additionally, last year, the Canadian government ordered a national security review of TikTok. CSIS chief Vigneault told CBC he will take part in that review and offer advice.

“I think the government has made the first step in recent months when it banned the use of TikTok on government devices. I think it was a very astute approach to take,” said Vigneault.

文章来源：firstpost

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