Beijing is potentially leveraging TikTok, the short video streaming application, to bolster its strength, Canada’s intelligence agency said in a document recently released publicly.
The 2022 document released to the ongoing Foreign Interference Inquiry shows the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) expressing concerns about the app’s collection of Western user data and its potential impact on democracy.
“TikTok, the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) first Western-centric social media application, has the potential to be exploited by the PRC government to bolster its influence and power overseas, including in Canada,” CSIS said in the “Analytical Brief.” The redacted version of this top-secret document was released on Sept. 18 by the inquiry currently investigating Chinese interference in Canada….