Federal Court Sets Aside Government Order to Shut Down TikTok Operations in Canada

A view of the TikTok offices in Toronto, on December 4, 2024. The Canadian Press/Chris Young

The Federal Court of Canada has said that for now TikTok can continue operations in Canada, referring the matter to Industry Minister Mélanie Joly for further review.

Ottawa ordered the Chinese makers of TikTok to close its operations in Canada in November 2024, following a national security review that was launched in September 2023 without a public announcement.

Then-Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said he had ordered the “wind up” of TikTok Technology Canada, a subsidiary of ByteDance, to address “specific national security risks” related to its operations, but he did not specify what the risks were.

TikTok challenged the government’s order in courts. While the shutdown did not block Canadians’ access to the TikTok app, the company said the shutdown of operations and offices would lead to the loss of hundreds of jobs.

A federal judge on Jan. 21 set aside the government’s order and referred the matter back to Joly to conduct a new review. The judgment was short and the judge did not give reasons for his ruling.

A spokesperson from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada told The Epoch Times that the wind-up order was set aside on the consent of the federal government and TikTok.

“This court order remits the issue back to the Minister of Industry, who will now proceed with a new national security review,” the spokesperson said, adding that the department cannot comment further on the review due to confidentiality provisions of the Investment Canada Act.

The Epoch Times also contacted TikTok for comment on the decision but did not hear back before publication time.

The Chinese ownership of TikTok has raised concerns among security agencies. Then-FBI director Christopher Wray said in 2022 that the Chinese regime could use the app to “control data collection on millions of users or control the recommendation algorithm, which could be used for influence operations if they so chose, or to control software on millions of devices which gives it opportunity to potentially technically compromise personal devices.”

Chinese law requires all organizations and citizens to support the state in the collection of intelligence.

Ottawa cited concerns of an “unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security” and banned TikTok from government devices in February 2023.

Then-Treasury Board president Mona Fortier said at the time that TikTok’s data collection methods “provide considerable access to the contents of the phone,” and noted there were concerns about the legal regime that governs the collected information.

Canadian Security Intelligence Services (CSIS) Director Daniel Rogers said while testifying before the ethics committee in December 2024 that authoritarian states like Beijing use big data collected from social media platforms such as TikTok “to carry out foreign interference activities.”

He said the primary concern with TikTok is that its parent company, ByteDance, is a Chinese entity that is subject to the Chinese regime’s laws, which could compel the company to collect data or use the platform in ways that align with the regime’s interests.

Rogers said the review in 2023, which incorporated insights from CSIS, determined that allowing TikTok to maintain its operations in Canada would “cause injury to Canada’s national security.”

Targeting Youth

Government officials also told Canada’s Foreign Interference Commission in 2024 that China’s disinformation efforts are targeting youth through social media platforms like TikTok as part of a long-term strategy to shape future Western leaders.

Although the company has said its platform is not meant for children under the age of 13, a joint investigation, released last September, into TikTok by Canada’s privacy commissioner Philippe Dufresne and privacy protection authorities in the provinces of Quebec, British Columbia, and Alberta found hundreds of thousands of underage Canadian children accessed TikTok each year.

The investigation also found that TikTok collected sensitive personal information from “a large number” of Canadian children and used the information to provide children with targeted ads and recommend tailored content. It found the company’s efforts to block children and protect personal information were “inadequate.”

In response to the investigation, TikTok agreed to improve its age-assurance measures to keep children off the platform, and to improve its communication so that users understand how their data could be used.

Noé Chartier, Reuters, and The Canadian Press contributed to this report.