Canada’s Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne has ordered TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance Limited, to dissolve its Canadian operations due to unspecified national security risks.
“The government is taking proactive steps to confront national security threats related to ByteDance Limited’s operations in Canada through TikTok Technology Canada Inc.,” Champagne said.
This decision reportedly follows a thorough review and input from Canada’s security and intelligence community. However, TikTok has vowed to challenge the order in court, calling it “unprofitable and harmful” to hundreds of local jobs.
“Shutting down TikTok’s Canadian offices and destroying hundreds of well-paying local jobs is not in anyone’s best interest, and today’s shutdown order will do just that,” TikTok said in a statement.
Canada’s spy chief, David Vigneault, has warned against using TikTok, citing China’s strategy to acquire personal information worldwide.
“There is a very clear strategy on the part of the government of China … to be able to acquire … personal information from anyone around the world,” Vigneault said.
Critics Disagree
But inspite of the government order to shut down ByteDance in Canada, the TikTok app services is still available to users in Canada. This has prompted University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist to question the rationality of the government’s focus on the company rather than the app itself, stating it may hinder enforcement of existing laws.
“It makes it harder to enforce some of the existing laws because ultimately, the company won’t have a presence in the country at all,” Geist said.
Geist also noted that the decision contradicts the government’s objectives to support media and creatives, as TikTok has sponsored creators and Indigenous communities.
“TikTok is an example of a company that actually has been sponsoring creators and Indigenous communities and the music communities and that will be lost, presumably, as part of this decision,” Geist argued..
The US has also taken a tough stance, with President Joe Biden signing a law directing ByteDance to sell TikTok or face a ban. TikTok has sued the US government in federal court to block the law.
Canada’s decision is part of a global trend, with several countries banning TikTok from official devices due to national security concerns.
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