November 07, (THEWILL) – The Canadian Government on Wednesday ordered that Chinese-owned TikTok “wind up” its business in the country, citing national security risks.
Canadian Innovation Minister, Francois-Philippe Champagne, confirmed the directive to newsmen.
“The Government of Canada has ordered TikTok Canada, so the operations of TikTok, the offices that they have in Vancouver and in Toronto, to be disbanded.
“What is important for Canadians to know [is] we’re talking about the operations [of TikTok], not the application.
“The application of TikTok will be available to Canadians as they want.
“The decision we took was to protect the national security of Canada based on the analysis that we conducted with our security services, and we came to the conclusion that these activities that were conducted that were conducted in Canada by TikTok at their offices would be injurious to national security”, Champagne explained.
Reacting to the directive, TikTok Canada said it will challenge the move in court, to remain in the nation.
A spokesperson said, “Shutting down TikTok’s Canadian offices and destroying hundreds of well-paying local jobs is not in anyone’s best interest. The TikTok platform will remain available for creators to find an audience, explore new interests, and for businesses to thrive”.
Canada banned TikTok from all government devices early last year, following the lead of various other nations that have raised concerns about potential spying activity.
At the time, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that this “may be the first step” in working to protect Canadians from potential risk via the app, with TikTok presenting “an unacceptable level of risk to privacy and security”.
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