As TikTok faces data-harvesting claims, spy agency warns Canadians to protect themselves

The man who oversees cybersecurity for the federal government says Canadians should be wary of apps that could leave their data in the "wrong hands" a warning that comes as the wildly popular Chinese-owned social media app TikTokfaces claims that it has spiedon its users.

Sami Khoury, head of the Communications Security Establishment (CSE)Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, said users need to be aware of what they're agreeing to when they download an app, and should ask whetherit enables access to their personal data.

"You have to ask yourself the question, do they need to access that information? Why does an application need to access all of my contact list? Why does it need to access my calendar, my email, my phone records, my [texts]?" he told CBC News.

"You layer on top of thatthe risk of connecting my 200 [contacts] with your 200 and then you have an aggregate ... of information. In some cases, it lands in places that don't live by the same principles of rule of law [and] respect for human rights."