The Canadian government has ordered Chinese-owned TikTok to shut down its business operations in Canada, citing national security concerns.
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne who announced the decision on Wednesday, said that the order was issued to address risks linked to ByteDance Ltd.’s creation of TikTok Technology Canada Inc.
“The decision was based on the information and evidence collected over the course of the review and on the advice of Canada’s security and intelligence community and other government partners,” Champagne said in a statement.
However, the government clarified that this does not block Canadians from accessing the app.
Users can continue to create new accounts and browse the platform.
Despite this, the government urged Canadians to adopt good cybersecurity practices and assess the risks of using social media platforms.
In response, a TikTok spokesperson confirmed the decision would lead to significant job losses in Canada, adding that the company plans to challenge the order in court.
“We will challenge this order in court,” the spokesperson confirmed. “The TikTok platform will remain available for creators to find an audience, explore new interests, and for businesses to thrive.”
The controversy surrounding TikTok is not confined to Canada. In the United States, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill in March 2024 to ban TikTok unless ByteDance divests its ownership.
The bill is set to take effect in January 2025, unless President-elect Trump intervenes. Despite leading the initial push to ban TikTok in 2020, Trump has expressed support for the platform.
TikTok has been banned on federal devices in the United States since 2020.
