If TikTok threatens national security why can Canadians keep it?

News of the Canadian government’s sudden decision to block TikTok from running a business in Canada landed with a thud last week.

Since then, navigating media coverage in search of concrete information feels like a wild goose chase. There is a definite lack of clarity behind the claim of mysterious “national security risks.”

Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne is well known for his efforts to loosen the North American economy’s ties to China. When pressed by the media for details on how Canadians should interpret the decision, he simply said that Canadians will have to “draw their own conclusions.”

While that answer is opaque, back in 2023 TikTok pre-emptively created a Transparency and Accountability Center to offer authorities a behind-the-scenes view into their algorithms and content moderation practices, even as American lawmakers pressed the company to disclose its information access and processing practices.

TikTok transparency efforts

Last year when Canada announced a ban of TikTok on government devices I as an expert in fintech cybersecurity supported the move, asking why any work devices had access to distracting social media applications in the first place.

TikTok has further offered transparency through Project Texas, a program to relocate data to American servers and undergo third-party audits. Canada, however, has not engaged in or acknowledged such transparency efforts, possibly bypassing a co-operative solution in favour of more drastic restrictions.

I’ve never been a TikTok user and have no more interest in the platform than I have in the outfit formerly known as Twitter, with its well-documented content moderation challenges. But from where I sit, the Canadian government’s handling of TikTok