With all eyes on how the new Trump administration will work with ChinaTech in the coming years, neighboring China to the north has dealt a blow to one of the country's biggest apps.
Canada has ordered the closure of ByteDance's Canadian operations, specifically the offices of TikTok Technology Canada, Inc., citing national security risks. These risks do not extend to the app itself. Consumers can still download, use, and create content on TikTok, and businesses can still advertise on TikTok. “The decision to use social media applications and platforms is a personal choice,” François-Philippe Champagne, the country's Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, said in a statement.
The statement did not elaborate on security risks. But the company has been under scrutiny for years for how it handles user data on its platform. Critics variously claim that user data is collected by China in a manner that is completely unauditable. TikTok has repeatedly denied that this is the case.
TikTok said in a statement to TechCrunch that the closure will impact “hundreds” of jobs in Canada. It plans to appeal the decision.
“It is not in anyone's best interest to close TikTok's Canadian office and destroy hundreds of good-paying local jobs. Today's closure order will do just that,” a spokesperson said in a statement. said. “We will challenge this order in court. The TikTok platform remains available for creators to find audiences, explore new interests, and grow their businesses.”
The company recently hired people for dozens of roles across operations, engineering and marketing at various locations around the country.
By some estimates, TikTok has about 15 million users in Canada, meaning it has penetrated about 41% of the population. Similar to usage elsewhere, among adults, people ages 18 to 24 are more active, according to eMarketer. But this study didn't target kids who, as you know, also love TikTok. This is itself a controversial issue due to concerns about children's mental health.
Despite its immense popularity, TikTok has been on the boil in Canada for some time now. This latest development is the result of a national security review under the Investing in Canada Act. The review was prompted after Canada banned the use of TikTok on all government devices in February 2023. This ban remains in place.
The company's unstable situation in the country may also have influenced how it develops further services in the country. TikTok Shop, the company's in-app e-commerce platform for selling and purchasing products, was scheduled to launch in Canada by the end of 2023, but has not yet launched. The Creator Rewards Program, which pays creators, has not yet been launched.
Canada isn't the only country trying to dominate TikTok.
In addition to the issues facing TikTok specifically in other countries, the app is also part of a broader reassessment of social media in general. Just yesterday, the Australian government announced proposals to ban all social media for under-16s.
International government attention to national security and TikTok began in earnest during the Trump administration, when the president announced plans to ban the app, which currently has 170 million users, domestically. They have come up with a plan to ban the company unless it is separated and sold in Japan. US entity. Four years later, the case is still ongoing, with TikTok challenging a signed order to sell its U.S. app business by January 2025.
No one knows what will happen next, as President Trump ironically reversed course over the summer. “I'm in favor of TikTok because we need competition,” he said in July after he himself joined the app.