The Canadian government ordered the dissolution of the TikTok business in the country on Wednesday (Nov 6), because of high national security risks. It also mentioned that the government is not banning access to the app or blocking it from creating content.
Francois-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s innovation minister, as per Reuters said, “The government is taking action to address the specific national security risks related to ByteDance Ltd operations in Canada through the establishment of TikTok Technology Canada Inc.”
Last year, Ottawa started reviewing TikTok’s strategy to invest and expand business in Canada. TikTok’s Chinese parent company is ByteDance. Canadian law allows the government to assess potential risks from foreign investments, like the TikTok proposal. The Canadian government is also legally allowed to hide the details of such investments.
Champagne added, “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”.
The spokesperson of TikTok, as per Reuters, said, “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 app will oppose the orders in court.
However, the Canadian government has prohibited access to the app from government devices citing significant risks to national security and privacy.
United States President Joe Biden signed a law on April 24, requiring ByteDance to sell TikTok by January 18 or face a ban. The White House has stated it wants to end Chinese ownership of the app because of national security but not ban TikTok. The parent company ByteDance and Tiktok got sued in the US federal court in May.
(With inputs from agencies)
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