By Paul Vieira


OTTAWA-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the country isn't ready to ban TikTok, although he wants to see how the social-media app responds to a U.S. law that would ban the app unless its U.S. operations were sold to another company.

His remarks, at a press event in Winnipeg, Manitoba, come hours after the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation broadcast parts of an interview with the country's chief spy chief, in which David Vigneault warned about using the Chinese-owned app for security and privacy reasons.

Canada last year banned TikTok from government-issued devices, citing an "unacceptable" level of risk to privacy and security. This year, President Biden signed into law a bipartisan bill that requires China-based ByteDance to sell the app to another company, or face a ban in the U.S. A lawsuit challenging the U.S. said 170 million Americans use the platform.

Vigneault, head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, told the country's public broadcaster he would "absolutely not recommend" that an individual download the TikTok app on their mobile device. "My answer as director of CSIS is that there is a very clear strategy on the part of the government of China to be able to acquire as much personal information from anyone around the world," he said.

Vigneault added: "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."

A TikTok spokesperson said Vigneault's assertions "are unsupported by evidence, and the fact is that TikTok has never shared Canadian user data with the Chinese government, nor would we if asked." The Chinese government has indicated it will not allow a forced sale of the app.

Trudeau said the incumbent Liberal government wanted to take a wait-and-see approach, and would monitor developments in the U.S.

"Before taking any drastic actions, let's see [TikTok's] response," Trudeau said. He added that when the head of the spy service "is pointing out that TikTok poses a real threat to the data security of Canadians, I think Canadians need to listen."


Write to Paul Vieira at paul.vieira@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

05-17-24 1404ET