TikTok Canada to continue operations as court orders security review

In November 2024, Canada ordered ByteDance Ltd to shut its TikTok Canada subsidiary, but the Federal Court on Wednesday set aside that order following the government's motion in TikTok's appeal

By Thomas Seal

 

TikTok will be able to continue operating its subsidiary in Canada for now, with the government’s blessing, after a judge shelved a previous order for it to wind down. 

In November 2024, under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Canada ordered ByteDance Ltd to close its subsidiary TikTok Technology Canada Inc.

 

But on Wednesday, that order was set aside by the Federal Court, after a motion made by Canada’s government in TikTok’s appeal.

 

The judge sent the matter back to Canada’s Industry Minister Melanie Joly.

 

Canada’s Innovation, Science and Economic Development department confirmed its consent, along with TikTok’s, to the decision in an emailed statement and said it would now start a “new national security review” under the Investment Canada Act, declining to comment further. 

The previous order followed a national security review with evidence and advice from Canada’s security and intelligence agencies, but did not ban the app, merely the company’s business operations in Canada.

 

 

A TikTok spokesperson welcomed the decision, and said the company looks forward “to working with the minister towards a resolution,” adding that the app has more than 14 million users in the country. That’s about one-third of the population.

 

“Keeping TikTok’s Canadian team in place will enable a path forward that continues to support millions of dollars of investment in Canada and hundreds of local jobs,” the spokesperson said.

 

University of Ottawa law professor Michael Geist said in a post on X that the move means the government has hit the “reset button” on the pre-existing ban.

 

This so-called reset comes days after Prime Minister Mark Carney became the first Canadian leader in more than eight years to visit China, where he announced a detente on tariffs and trade with President Xi Jinping.

 

TikTok’s operations and ownership have been the subject of a yearslong saga in the US since 2020.