Niagara municipalities quickly banning TikTok on all city devices

Niagara | Lincoln | Niagara Falls | St Catharines | Police | Politics |

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Published March 17, 2023 at 9:42 am

With an eye towards cyber-security, Niagara municipalities are quickly banning the social media platform TikTok on any city devices and city networks.

There have been concerns over the wildly popular app’s data collection methods and their access to the contents on devices and through networks, meaning simply that they could gain access to private information on municipal networks.

To that end, not only are city and town-owned computers and phones banned for accessing TikTok, their wireless Wifi cannot be used by citizens to access.

Earlier this week, Lincoln joined a growing list of Niagara municipalities to shut down TikTok. So far, Niagara Region, St. Catharines, Niagara Falls, Thorold, Port Colborne, Grimsby, as well as Niagara Regional Police have banned TikTok from their networks.

On March 13, Lincoln joined the list with Mayor Sandra Easton saying, “Cybersecurity and privacy are of the utmost importance when it comes to our staff, residents, and visitors.”

“It is important that we take this precautionary measure as we continue to learn more of the threats of TikTok to cyber security.”

Countless municipalities across the country have instituted similar bans, as have the Government of Canada and Province of Ontario.

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