The federal government has ordered the dissolution of TikTok in Canada.
Canadian users will still be able to use and access the popular social media app, but the company’s Canadian operations, which has offices in Toronto and Vancouver, have been ordered to “wind down.”
This follows a national security review of TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance Ltd.
“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,” said Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne in a statement, reported by Canadian Press.
He also told CBC that TikTok’s Canadian operations are potentially “injurious to national security.” He wouldn’t go into specifics, but said “I know Canadians would understand when you’re saying the government of Canada is taking measures to protect national security, that’s serious.”
Canadians will still be able to watch TikTok videos and post their own on the app, but the company will no longer be able to conduct business in the country.
TikTok, however, will not leave without a fight.
“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. We will challenge this order in court,” a spokesperson for TikTok told the national broadcaster.
TikTok has faced similar scrutiny in the United States, with an order for ByteDance to sell the platform or stop operating.
In Canada, a big part of TikTok’s operations revolve around music and it has a number of initiatives to support local creators. In April, the company launched a weekly music chart measuring viral songs on the platform in Canada.
A number of Canadian artists like Lauren Spencer Smith, Alexander Stewart, Crash Adams and, most successfully, Tate McRae, have built successful music careers on TikTok.
More on this story as it develops.
