The Canadian government revealed on Thursday that it ordered a national security review of TikTok, a popular social media app, back in September. The move was not made public until Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was asked about the national security review at a press conference in Windsor on Thursday.

During the press conference, Trudeau stated the government was “watching closely” the events happening in the US before adding that he could not comment any further about ongoing national security reviews. The revelation comes in the midst of an effort to pass legislation in the US Congress to ban TikTok. On March 13, the US House of Representatives passed a bill that would force TikTok and its Chinese-owned parent company, ByteDance, to cease its Chinese-based operations following concerns over privacy protections for user data. TikTok CEO Shou Chew previously defended TikTok and ByteDance from similar allegations during a congressional hearing.

In Canada, TikTok is already banned on government phones. This policy was introduced in February 2023 by Canada’s President of the Treasury Board, Mona Fortier. While the government provided no definitive proof that TikTok compromised government information, the government argued that TikTok’s data collection methods raised enough security concerns to ban the app entirely on government phones. 

According to Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne’s office, Canada’s national security review was ordered upon the expansion of the TikTok business. That said, Champagne’s office refused to reveal which specific aspects were under investigation. The national review and cabinet order is not accessible online because the information is protected under the Investment Canada Act.