After Quebec, Ottawa and Montreal and several others, it is the turn of the public transport industry to look into the use of TikTok in a professional context. Several companies in the metropolis say they are “reflecting” on the use of the Chinese social network for their employees. Already, the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) confirms that it will block it.
The STM was indeed the first company to announce the news, this week, thus wanting to “ensure the security of the STM’s assets in the face of potential risks” “The decision was actually made to block access to the platform on the all mobile devices provided by the STM to its employees. Everything will be done over the next few days, ”says spokesperson Philippe Déry.
He says the move comes on the heels of “recent decisions by provincial and federal governments to restrict access to the TikTok platform.”
For the STM, which had just joined the Chinese social network as an organization, a more global reflection will also begin internally. “Our social media managers are in contact with our cybersecurity teams to assess the potential impacts of this decision and the alternatives for the continued security of our presence on the platform,” continues Mr. Déry in this regard.
This blocking, he insists, is in addition to the “policy on the use of social media for all of its employees”, which already tags “the use of these platforms during working hours”.
Discussion in progress at the ARTM
At the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM), which oversees all transport companies in Greater Montreal, spokesperson Simon Charbonneau confirms that the organization is “thinking very seriously” about banning the use of TikTok for its employees. . “It would concern the devices belonging to us. That said, there are still things to attach in the coming days”, he nuances, also talking about potential “risks at the data level”.
“The subject was indeed discussed internally. A decision will be made shortly, ”says the acting head of communications for the Réseau de transport de Longueuil (RTL), Aline Pinxteren, whose group has also recently been present on TikTok. Exo and the Société de transport de Laval (STL), for their part, had not yet answered our questions at the time these lines were written.
Earlier this week, on Monday, Quebec announced that it was following Ottawa’s lead by also prohibiting the installation and use of the popular social network TikTok on the mobile devices of its civil servants. The City of Montreal has also followed this trend in stride. In Ottawa, MPs will no longer be able to access the social network from Friday on the devices provided to them.
A sweep is also preparing in some state companies, including the Caisse de depot and Hydro-Québec, which in turn blacklisted TikTok on the mobile devices provided to their employees. In the private sector, the turn of the screw given by Quebec and Ottawa should also encourage managers to watch what is downloaded by their employees on corporate equipment, said Wednesday to The Press cybersecurity specialists.