The Canadian federal government has ordered TikTok to shut down its Canadian operations, but Canadians will continue to access the platform.
Minister of National Innovation, Science and Industry, François Philippe ChampagneA statement issued on Wednesday (November 6) said that the government had ordered TikTok Technologies Canada Ltd.to “wind down” its operations over “certain national security risks” identified during a year-long review of TikTok’s Canadian operations.
Champagne said the decision to order the shutdown was based on advice from the security and intelligence communities.
“The government is not blocking Canadians’ ability to access the TikTok app or create content. The decision to use a social media app or platform is a personal choice,” Champagne said.
TikTok Technology Canada is primarily engaged in advertising sales and marketing, with offices in Toronto and Vancouver. National Post reported.
“Closing TikTok’s Canadian offices and destroying hundreds of high-paying local jobs is not in anyone’s best interest, and today’s closure order will do just that,” TikTok said in a response posted Thursday.
“We will challenge this order in court. The TikTok platform will continue to allow creators to find audiences, explore new interests, and enable businesses to thrive.
“The government is not blocking Canadians’ ability to access the TikTok app or create content. The decision to use a social media app or platform is a personal choice.
François-Philippe Champagne, Canadian Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry
This isn’t TikTok’s first legal challenge to a proposed ban. Canada’s shutdown order comes after new U.S. law requires TikTok parent company Byte bounce Sell TikTok’s U.S. operations or the app faces a de facto ban from January 2025.
TikTok has challenged the law in U.S. federal court, saying it unconstitutionally infringes on free speech.
The status of U.S. law is uncertain for the following reasons Donald TrumpVictory in the presidential race this week. While Trump initially supported banning TikTok during his first presidential term, he opposed new “divest or ban” laws during this year’s campaign.
Trump joined TikTok earlier this year and quickly won 13.7 million followers.
The divestment or ban law would take effect the same month Trump takes office.
TikTok has long been suspected of providing a backdoor for the Chinese government to obtain user data. As a China-based company, ByteDance is required to share information with the Beijing government upon request.
TikTok has long denied sharing data with Beijing and said it was transferring U.S. users’ data to servers in the United States. TikTok has previously said Canadians’ data is stored on servers in Malaysia, Singapore and the United States. globe and mail.
“It’s not in anyone’s best interest to close TikTok’s Canadian offices and destroy hundreds of high-paying local jobs, and today’s closure order will do just that.”
Tik Tok
Canada’s decision to ban TikTok from operating as a business while allowing Canadians to use its service has been criticized by some media experts.
Media experts from City University of Toronto were interviewed by the media globe and mailcalling the decision “strange” while Michael GuestA prominent professor in the fields of law, technology and e-commerce at the University of Ottawa said the move could backfire.
“If the app poses different security and privacy risks than other platforms, then there’s probably good reason to ban the app, but banning the company rather than the app might actually make things worse, because The risks associated with the app will still exist, but the ability to hold companies accountable will be diminished,” Guest wrote on his blog.
Canada is one of many Western countries to ban the TikTok app on government devices in 2023.global music business
