Canada ordered TikTok’s operations to shut down

Canadian Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne said the decision to close TikTok’s two offices in Toronto and Vancouver was based on information and evidence collected during the national security assessment process, as well as comments from the community. security and intelligence community.

“We have concluded that the activities conducted by TikTok and its office in Canada may be harmful to national security,” he told CBC News. The decision was made under the Investment Canada Act, which allows the government to review foreign investments that could harm national security.

The government said it does not prevent people from accessing the TikTok application. “The decision to use a social media app or platform is a personal choice,” the statement said. However, Mr Champagne advised people to “be cautious” and parents “to be vigilant”.

A TikTok spokesperson said the company will sue. “Closing TikTok’s Canadian offices and eliminating hundreds of good-paying local jobs does not benefit anyone. We will take this order to court to challenge,” said the person. the spokesman said.

TikTok has long insisted its servers are outside of China and not under Beijing’s control, and has said it complies with Canadian privacy and data protection laws.

Ottawa began reviewing TikTok’s investment and business expansion plans in Canada last year. In February 2023, the country also banned the TikTok application on government devices, saying it posed an unacceptable level of privacy and security risks.

In the US, on April 24, President Joe Biden signed a law giving ByteDance – TikTok’s parent company – a deadline to sell its TikTok business in the country or be banned before January 19, 2025. The White House said it wants to terminate ByteDance’s ownership for national security reasons but has no intention of banning TikTok. In May, TikTok and ByteDance sued this law in US federal court.