The ban, valid for all since 2020 in India, does not apply to American entities that are not dependent on the federal government, nor to the millions of individuals who use the Chinese social network. But American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) deplored the new law, believing that it amounted to “effectively ban TikTok”. “Congress must not censor entire platforms and deprive Americans of their constitutional right to free speech and expression”denounced Jenna Leventoff, senior political adviser of the ACLU. “We have the right to use TikTok and other platforms to exchange our thoughts, ideas and opinions with people across the country and around the world.”
The app, owned by Chinese company ByteDance, is also no longer welcome in Canada. The governments of Ottawa and Quebec banned its use, starting February 28, on phones provided to staff. A decision motivated by “unacceptable level of risk” for privacy and security. “TikTok’s data collection methods give considerable access to phone content“, indicated the president of the ministry of the Treasury, Mona Fortier. “We have no reason to believe at this time that any government information has been compromised.”