justin trudeau tiktok ban: TikTok ban had ‘side benefit’ of getting his kids off platform: Canada PM Justin Trudeau

Speaking at a joint news conference with US President Joe Biden in Ottawa, Trudeau said: “Our concerns around TikTok are around security and access to information that the Chinese government could have to government phones. It’s just a personal side benefit that my kids can’t use TikTok anymore.”

Trudeau, 51, has three children, two of whom are teenagers. His government announced its ban last month, saying the platform has an “unacceptable” risk to privacy and security.

“I am obviously concerned with their privacy and their security, which is why I’m glad that on their phones that happened to be issued by the government, they no longer access TikTok,” Trudeau said. “That was a big frustration for them. ‘Really this applies to us, dad?'”

TikTok CEO hearing

US lawmakers questioned TikTok chief executive Shou Zi Chew during a Congressional hearing in what was a rare public appearance from the CEO on Thursday.

Discover the stories of your interest

The lawmakers were unconvinced with most of what Chew said as they questioned him on data security and user safety while he made a case for why the hugely popular video-sharing app shouldn’t be banned.The TikTok CEO’s testimony comes at a crucial time for the company, which has 150 million US users but is under increasing pressure in the country due to its Chinese ownership.

The House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Republican, said, “TikTok collects nearly every data point imaginable – from people’s location to what they type and copy, who they talk to, to biometric data and more.”

Rodgers’ comments highlight the concerns among US lawmakers regarding the country’s national security and data privacy of US citizens as TikTok has more than 150 million users in the country.

However, Chew rebutted these claims and said, “We do not promote or remove content at the request of the Chinese government,” adding that “it is our commitment to this committee and all our users that we will keep (TikTok) free from any manipulation by any government.”

Further, he told US lawmakers that China-based employees at its parent company ByteDance may still have access to some US data from the app but added that won’t be the case once its risk mitigation plan, called Project Texas, is complete.

Also read | TikTok CEO-US Congressional hearing: five things to know

Speaking at a joint news conference with US President Joe Biden in Ottawa, Trudeau said: “Our concerns around TikTok are around security and access to information that the Chinese government could have to government phones. It’s just a personal side benefit that my kids can’t use TikTok anymore.”

Trudeau, 51, has three children, two of whom are teenagers. His government announced its ban last month, saying the platform has an “unacceptable” risk to privacy and security.

“I am obviously concerned with their privacy and their security, which is why I’m glad that on their phones that happened to be issued by the government, they no longer access TikTok,” Trudeau said. “That was a big frustration for them. ‘Really this applies to us, dad?'”

TikTok CEO hearing

US lawmakers questioned TikTok chief executive Shou Zi Chew during a Congressional hearing in what was a rare public appearance from the CEO on Thursday.

Discover the stories of your interest

The lawmakers were unconvinced with most of what Chew said as they questioned him on data security and user safety while he made a case for why the hugely popular video-sharing app shouldn’t be banned.The TikTok CEO’s testimony comes at a crucial time for the company, which has 150 million US users but is under increasing pressure in the country due to its Chinese ownership.

The House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Republican, said, “TikTok collects nearly every data point imaginable – from people’s location to what they type and copy, who they talk to, to biometric data and more.”

Rodgers’ comments highlight the concerns among US lawmakers regarding the country’s national security and data privacy of US citizens as TikTok has more than 150 million users in the country.

However, Chew rebutted these claims and said, “We do not promote or remove content at the request of the Chinese government,” adding that “it is our commitment to this committee and all our users that we will keep (TikTok) free from any manipulation by any government.”

Further, he told US lawmakers that China-based employees at its parent company ByteDance may still have access to some US data from the app but added that won’t be the case once its risk mitigation plan, called Project Texas, is complete.

Also read | TikTok CEO-US Congressional hearing: five things to know