A number of federal departments have spent a total of over $2 million on advertisements on the Chinese-owned video-sharing app TikTok since 2020, according to government records. The app was recently banned on federally-issued devices over security concerns.
The federal cabinet disclosed the figures in an Inquiry Of Ministry tabled in the Commons on Jan. 30, which shows the total amounts spent by federal departments and agencies on social media advertising over the past number of years.
The figures show that federal offices spent $2,211,696 on TikTok advertisements since 2020, as first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter.
Public Services and Procurement Canada made up the bulk of the spending, with over $2 million spent on TikTok ads in 2020 and 2021. The department did not disclose its figures on the matter from 2022 to date….