Canada Shuts Down TikTok Business Operations in Country — Here’s Why
By Movieguide® Contributor
The Canadian Government ordered TikTok to halt all business operations within its borders.
“The government is taking action to address the specific national security risks related to ByteDance Ltd’s operations in Canada through the establishment of TikTok Technology Canada Inc,” Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne told the media in a statement.
“The decision was based on the information and evidence collected over the course of the review and on the advice of Canada’s security and intelligence community and other government partners,” he added.
According to Variety, “This dissolution order comes after a national security review of TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance, which put forth a proposal last year to expand its business in Canada.”
TikTok also released a statement, saying that it “will challenge the order in the court.”
“Shutting down TikTok’s Canadian offices and destroying hundreds of well-paying local jobs is not in anyone’s best interest, and today’s shutdown order will do just that,” the platform said. “We will challenge this order in court. The TikTok platform will remain available for creators to find an audience, explore new interests and for businesses to thrive.”
Despite Canada’s efforts to remove TikTok, Canadians can still use and download the app.
“Champagne said that Canadians can still choose to access TikTok but should be aware of potential risks. This approach appears to avoid a full ban of the platform while addressing security concerns through policy rather than restriction,” Newsweek wrote.
TikTok faces a ban in the United States as well.
READ MORE: U.S. COURT OF APPEALS TO HEAR LEGAL CHALLENGES TO POSSIBLE TIKTOK BAN
“…the U.S. government wants to force the sale of the social media company from its China-based parent company, ByteDance, or enforce an outright ban, citing national security issues,” Newsweek explained.
However, TikTok’s lawyer, Andrew Pincus, argues that a ban violates the First Amendment.
“The notion that a foreign adversary is going to spread ideas about political issues and social issues, which is exactly what the government says in its brief, has never in our history been a basis for suppressing speech in this country, even of the foreign governments, let alone American speakers speaking on their own terms to other Americans,” Pincus told the court.
READ MORE: DOES A TIKTOK BAN VIOLATE YOUR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH?
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