FREDERICTON (GNB) – Effective immediately, the application TikTok will be banned from all mobile devices issued by the provincial government.

“The protection of personal information is of the utmost importance,” said Liz Byrne-Zwicker, chief information officer for the provincial government. “This decision is a precautionary measure to ensure the private information government employees have access to on a daily basis is not threatened.”

The data collection methods used by TikTok, when installed on mobile devices, enables broad access to the device’s content and has been called into question by experts, said Byrne-Zwicker. There are also concerns about the legal regime that governs the information collected. She said there is no indication at this time that any private information has been compromised through mobile devices issued by the provincial government.

The decision aligns with the direction of other provinces and follows the recent decision by the federal government’s chief information officer that the popular social media app presents an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security.

In addition to being wiped from all government-issued devices, TikTok will also be blocked from being downloaded onto devices.