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Last year, many regions including Canada, the EU and the UK banned the app from government devices citing security concerns.
Canada has ordered TikTok to wind up its business in the country, but allows the app to remain functional for users.
The Canadian minister of innovation, science and industry, François-Philippe Champagne made a statement yesterday (6 November) explaining that the decision to close TikTok Technology Canada Inc, TikTok’s Canadian business, was a result of a “multi-step” national security review.
“The government’s decision was made in accordance with the Investment Canada Act, which allows for the review of foreign investments that may be injurious to Canada’s national security,” Champagne said.
The action to order TikTok Canada’s wind up is due to national security risks associated with TikTok-owner ByteDance Ltd’s operations in the country through the app’s business, the minister said.
The shutdown of its Canadian business would mean job losses for hundreds of employees, a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement. According to the spokesperson, TikTok “will challenge this order in court”.
While Champagne clarified that the government is not blocking access to the app in the country, he warned users to “adopt good cybersecurity practices and assess the possible risks” of social media platforms, and urged users to be aware of which country’s laws apply to the app.
However, Michael Geist, a University of Ottawa professor of law, said that the wind-down order will “make matters worse,” since the risks associated with using the app remain while the ability to hold the company accountable will be weakened in Canada.
In what it called a “precautionary” move, the Canadian government banned TikTok from government devices early last year, explaining that the app’s data collection methods provide “considerable access” to the contents of the phone it is installed on. Around this time, the European Commission also asked all its employees to delete the app from devices provided by the organisation.
And the UK banned TikTok from government devices for “good cyber hygiene” a month later following a National Cyber Security Centre review of the app. Other countries including France, Australia and New Zealand also instituted bans of the app on government devices.
Meanwhile, TikTok’s future in the US is under serious pressure with attempts from the US government to ban the TikTok app in the country if its owner ByteDance does not sell its stake in the app.
In its appeal against the US government’s divestment bill, TikTok denied that it shared user data with the Chinese government and calls the ban an attack on free speech.
However, with president-elect Donald Trump set to take over, the app’s luck might shift for the better.
Trump, who previously tried to ban the app himself, joined the platform earlier this June and has since claimed that he will “save TikTok in America” if he won.
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