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The Canadian government ordered the dissolution of TikTok’s Canadian business in November following a national security review of TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance.
TikTok announced yesterday (10 December) that it will be challenging the Canadian government’s decision to shutdown the social media giant’s operations in the country.
It comes one day after the social media giant announced that it would be seeking an emergency injunction against the US in order to pause the incoming ban of its services there.
Last month, the Canadian government ordered TikTok to wind up its business in the country. However, it specified that the popular app would remain functional in Canada for its users.
The decision came following a national security review conducted by the government on TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, which is based in China. The government cited the review’s discovery of national security risks as the basis of its decision.
In a statement, TikTok explained that it has filed a notice of application in federal court to challenge the government’s order.
The company added that it is of the view that “it’s in the best interest of Canadians to find a meaningful solution and ensure that a local team remains in place, alongside the TikTok platform”.
Potential ramifications
In the official court filing, which is dated 5 December, TikTok claimed that a ban of its services in Canada would result in the termination of hundreds of employees there, and also in the potential termination of more than 250,000 contracts with Canadian-based advertisers.
TikTok also submitted an argument claiming that the National Security Review process was “procedurally unfair” towards the company.
Michael Geist, a University of Ottawa professor of law, has also been critical of the Canadian government’s decision. Geist is of the view 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.
However, concerns about TikTok’s security implications have been raised by the governments of multiple countries over the past two years.
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 review of the app. Other countries including France, Australia and New Zealand later instituted bans of the app on government devices.
And in the context of Ireland, the company came under criticism ahead of the Irish general elections, which took place on 29 November, over moderation concerns. This criticism originated from an investigation by international NGO Global Witness, which found “significant failings” in TikTok’s ability to moderate disinformation and political content.
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