Canada announced Wednesday that it will not block access to the popular video-sharing app TikTok, but is ordering the dissolution of its Canadian business after a national security audit of the Chinese company behind it.
Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said the goal is to address risks related to ByteDance Ltd.'s creation of TikTok Technology Canada Inc..
“The government is not blocking Canadians' access to the TikTok application or their ability to create content. The decision to use an application or social media platform is a personal choice,” Champagne said.
Champagne said it's important for Canadians to adopt good cybersecurity practices, including protecting their personal information.
He said the dissolution order was issued in accordance with the Investment Canada Act, which allows for the review of foreign investments that could harm Canada's national security. It said the decision was based on information and evidence gathered during the review and on advice from Canada's security and intelligence community and other government partners.
A spokesperson for TikTok said in a statement that the closure of its Canadian offices will mean the loss of hundreds of local jobs.
“We will challenge this order in court,” the spokesperson said. “The TikTok platform will remain available for creators to find audiences, explore new interests, and help businesses thrive.”
TikTok is hugely popular among young people, but its Chinese ownership has raised fears that Beijing could use it to collect data on Western users or promote pro-China narratives and disinformation. TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company that moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2020.
TikTok faces increasing scrutiny from Europe and America over data security and privacy. This comes as China and the West are engaged in a broader tug-of-war over technologies ranging from spy balloons to computer chips.
Canada had previously banned TikTok from all government-issued mobile devices. TikTok has two offices in Canada, one in Toronto and one in Vancouver.
Michael Geist, a Canada Research Professor in Internet Law and E-Commerce at the University of Ottawa, said in a blog post that “banning the company rather than the app could actually make things worse as the risks associated with apps will remain, but the ability to hold the company accountable will be weakened.”
Canada's move comes a day after Donald Trump's election in the United States. In June, Trump joined TikTok, a platform he once attempted to ban while in the White House. It has approximately 170 million users in the United States
Trump tried to ban TikTok through an executive order stating that “the spread in the United States of mobile applications developed and owned” by Chinese companies poses a threat to national security. Courts blocked the action after TikTok sued.
Both the US FBI and the Federal Communications Commission have warned that ByteDance may share user data such as browsing history, location and biometric identifiers with the Chinese government. TikTok said it has never done this and would not do so if asked.
Trump said earlier this year that he still believes TikTok poses a national security risk but has opposed banning it.
US President Joe Biden signed legislation in April that would force ByteDance to sell the app to a US company within a year or face a national ban. It's unclear whether that law would survive a legal challenge filed by TikTok or whether ByteDance would agree to sell.