TikTok is both the fastest growing and least trusted social media app in Canada, according to a new poll conducted by Toronto Metropolitan University.
The survey found that the Chinese social media app that allows people to share short videos has nearly tripled its reach across Canada, with 29% of poll respondents saying they use the app regularly, up from 10% in 2019.
However, only one in 10 Canadians (10%) say they trust TikTok, which has been accused of stealing user data and spying on people around the world.
According to the survey, TikTok has now replaced Facebook as Canada's least trusted social media organization.
Concerns about TikTok are largely because its parent company, ByteDance, is based in China, where the government in Beijing can access user data.
Regardless of the concerns, Canadians still use TikTok and other social media apps more than ever before, with 91% of people saying they regularly use YouTube, 82% using Facebook on a regular basis, and 55% regularly on Instagram.
Survey respondents rated TikTok, Facebook and Twitter as having the lowest level of trust when asked whether they believe the organizations act in the public interest.
Only 10% of people said they have a high degree of trust in Facebook, TikTok or Twitter. About 50% of respondents had low trust in TikTok, up from 36% in 2021, and only 7% of people said they have high trust in the app.
The poll also found that 42% of Canadians had low trust in Facebook, and 40% had low trust in Twitter.
More than 80% of Canadians support requirements for social media platforms to remove illegal content, block bot accounts, label information that is verified as false, and provide tools for users to fact check content.
The Toronto Metropolitan University poll is based on an online survey of 2,022 Canadians above the age of 16 conducted in October 2022.
