Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics

Comité permanent de l'accès à l'information, de la protection des renseignements personnels et de l'éthique

For immediate release

Ottawa, December 5, 2024 -

Today, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics, presented to the House of Commons a report entitled Oversight of Social Media Platforms: Ensuring Privacy and Safety Online.

The report provides an overview of social media platform practices, with a particular focus on TikTok, which was explicitly mentioned in the motion that led to the study. The Committee was particularly interested in that platform, considering, among other things, the fact that the Government of Canada has issued a ban on its use on government-issued devices.

The report highlights flaws in social media platforms practices identified by academics and experts with respect, for example, to how their business model has a negative impact on their data collection practices or the way in which their practices may not be sufficient to protect minors’ personal information. The report also discusses the use of these platforms by foreign states or actors for interference purposes and how such attempts may be countered in Canada. Lastly, the report outlines the measures, legislative and other, proposed by the witnesses to ensure better oversight of social media platforms.

The report contains a total of 8 recommendations to the Government of Canada, including a recommendation to reevaluate its digital standards regarding the download and use of all social media apps on government-issued devices, recommendations to strengthen private sector privacy legislation, particularly as it pertains to the protection of minors’ personal information and the rules surrounding data minimization, as well as recommendations to allocate more resources to digital literacy and the fight against cybercrime.

“On behalf of the Committee, I want to thank all the witnesses who appeared before the Committee,” stated John Brassard, Chair of the Committee. He added: “Although I am presenting this report to Parliament today, the Committee has agreed on a further study to better understand the Government’s recent decision to ban Tik Tok’s Canadian operations just days after the committee considered the report and agreed to it. The government cited “national security concerns” as the reason. Not knowing what these national security concerns were or other information related to this decision being made after our work was done, could have materially impacted the content of our report or the recommendations, and it’s the reason why we are re-visiting this in a future study.”

The Committee held seven public meetings as part of this study. It heard from 24 witnesses, including the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, social media platforms representatives, as well as academics and experts. The Committee also received one brief. Transcripts of witness testimony and the brief received by the Committee can be consulted on the Parliament of Canada’s website: ETHI (ourcommons.ca).