TikTok’s Canada unit seeks court review of shutdown order
11 December 2024 - 16:45
byRhea Rose Abraham and Kanjyik Ghosh
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Bengaluru — TikTok’s Canadian unit says it has filed an emergency motion with the Federal Court seeking a judicial review of an order by the government requiring it to shut down its business in Canada.
The Chinese-owned social media app filed the request in court on December 5. Alternatively, it said the court could set aside the order and return it to the government for review along with guidance.
The government stood by its decision requiring TikTok to wind up its business in Canada, a spokesperson for the minister of innovation, science & industry said .
“The government’s decision was informed by a thorough national security review and advice from Canada’s security and intelligence community”, the spokesperson said on Wednesday.
Ottawa began investigating TikTok’s plan to invest and expand its business in Canada last year. The review led to a government order in November that required the firm to end its Canadian operations because of national security concerns.
Closing its Canadian business would lead to hundreds of job losses, TikTok argued in its statement on the legal challenge.
“We believe it’s in the best interest of Canadians to find a meaningful solution and ensure that a local team remains in place, alongside the TikTok platform,” it said on Tuesday.
Under Canadian law, the government can assess potential risks to national security from foreign investments, such as the TikTok proposal. The law prevents the government from revealing the details of such investments.
Last month’s order stopped short of blocking Canadians’ access to the popular social media platform. TikTok has more than 14-million monthly users in Canada, according to the company.
The Canadian order followed similar action in the US, where President Joe Biden signed a law in April requiring Bytedance, which owns TikTok, to sell its US assets by January 19 2025 or face a nationwide ban.
On Monday, TikTok and Bytedance separately asked an appeals court to temporarily block the law pending a Supreme Court review.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
TikTok’s Canada unit seeks court review of shutdown order
Bengaluru — TikTok’s Canadian unit says it has filed an emergency motion with the Federal Court seeking a judicial review of an order by the government requiring it to shut down its business in Canada.
The Chinese-owned social media app filed the request in court on December 5. Alternatively, it said the court could set aside the order and return it to the government for review along with guidance.
The government stood by its decision requiring TikTok to wind up its business in Canada, a spokesperson for the minister of innovation, science & industry said .
“The government’s decision was informed by a thorough national security review and advice from Canada’s security and intelligence community”, the spokesperson said on Wednesday.
Ottawa began investigating TikTok’s plan to invest and expand its business in Canada last year. The review led to a government order in November that required the firm to end its Canadian operations because of national security concerns.
Closing its Canadian business would lead to hundreds of job losses, TikTok argued in its statement on the legal challenge.
“We believe it’s in the best interest of Canadians to find a meaningful solution and ensure that a local team remains in place, alongside the TikTok platform,” it said on Tuesday.
Under Canadian law, the government can assess potential risks to national security from foreign investments, such as the TikTok proposal. The law prevents the government from revealing the details of such investments.
Last month’s order stopped short of blocking Canadians’ access to the popular social media platform. TikTok has more than 14-million monthly users in Canada, according to the company.
The Canadian order followed similar action in the US, where President Joe Biden signed a law in April requiring Bytedance, which owns TikTok, to sell its US assets by January 19 2025 or face a nationwide ban.
On Monday, TikTok and Bytedance separately asked an appeals court to temporarily block the law pending a Supreme Court review.
Reuters
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