My latest Globe and Mail op-ed notes that TikTok has long presented a thorny challenge for Western governments. The security and privacy concerns resulting from its link to China have pushed some to ban the app altogether. Others, cognizant of its enormous popularity with younger demographics and its support for the cultural sector, have sought to establish regulatory safeguards, required sales of controlling interest, or demanded localized versions that limit the potential for Chinese influence or interference.
Ottawa has faced many of the same issues, yet what has emerged is an incoherent approach that leaves Canadians with the worst of all worlds: less protection against security and privacy risks, less support for the cultural sector, and less certainty about what the government is trying to achieve.
Last fall, the government concluded its national security review of TikTok and arrived at a curious outcome: it planned to ban the company from operating in Canada but the app would remain available without restriction. On the surface, the decision made little sense since the risks associated with the app would remain in place, yet the ability to apply Canadian privacy and security safeguards would be weakened. Moreover, the corporate ban seemingly jeopardized TikTok’s support for a myriad of cultural groups, including a high profile initiative designed to support indigenous creators.
The government never fully explained the policy rationale, but it may have hoped to ride on the coattails of the U.S., which had legislation in place that would have required the China-based owner of TikTok to sell it or face the prospect of having the app banned with prohibitions on its hosting or distribution. The net result would have been that the company would leave Canada due to the security order and the app would disappear due to U.S. action.
Months later, the approach stands as yet another Canadian digital policy failure. The corporate ban has risked the effectiveness of privacy enforcement as the Privacy Commissioner of Canada has acknowledged it would make it harder to compel documents and conduct investigations if the company no longer operates in Canada.
Further, TikTok has pulled sponsorships from institutions such as the Juno Awards and Toronto International Film Festival, cancelled support for the ADISQ music awards gala that honours the Quebec music sector, and ended the National Screen Institute’s TikTok Accelerator for Indigenous Creators, which has worked with hundreds of indigenous creators over the years. The company is still challenging the government’s decision in federal court, but the loss of millions of dollars in cultural support was entirely predictable.
Meanwhile, not only is the U.S. not banning the app, but it appears that TikTok is creating a customized version specifically for that market. Reports indicate the company is planning to launch a stand-alone app this fall for U.S. users that would feature a separate algorithm and data system from its global app. That would give those users enhanced privacy and security safeguards while maintaining benefits for digital creators and the broader cultural sector.
Canada appears to have misplayed the issue and without a course correction stands to lose valuable supports without any tangible gains to show for it. TikTok certainly isn’t about to create a Canadian version of the app if it is banned from the country and the lost funding for cultural groups won’t be easy to replace.
Salvaging the issue would start with putting a freeze on the corporate ban. Instead of a ban, why not borrow from the U.S. playbook by having Industry Minister Mélanie Joly extract new concessions from the company in terms of cultural and creator support? Further, seek greater algorithmic transparency to better address potential harms and pair demands for heightened privacy and security safeguards with long overdue privacy reform. Privacy law changes would establish real penalties for violations and give the Privacy Commissioner of Canada the order making power he needs to more effectively enforce the law.
TikTok raises real issues and risks with the service that require a serious policy response. But removing the corporate offices and leaving the app untouched always seemed to guarantee the worst possible outcome by doing little to address the potential risks faced by Canadians and bringing to halt some of the cultural benefits of having the service operate in Canada. New reports indicate that the government has thus far refused to engage, but it’s time for a new approach that better positions Canada to benefit from TikTok’s presence in Canada, while more effectively addressing the privacy and security risks.
