TikTok Canada Unit Ordered to Dissolve Operations on National-Security Concerns

 Canada said Wednesday it ordered TikTok Technology Canada, the domestic unit of the social-media app's Chinese owner, to dissolve its business operations due to national-security concerns.

The decision follows a review and is on the advice of the country's security and intelligence agencies, said Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne.

He said the extraordinary move is to address "specific national-security risks," but didn't elaborate. A spokeswoman for Champagne didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

A spokeswoman for TikTok, which is owned by China's Bytedance, said the Canadian government's decision would eliminate hundreds of jobs, and isn't in anyone's best interest. She said the company would challenge Champagne's order in court.

Despite the order, the government won't block citizens' access to the TikTok app or their ability to post content on the digital platform, Champagne said. "The decision to use a social media application or platform is a personal choice," he said.

It was up to Canadians to "assess the possible risks of using social-media platforms and applications," such as how the information is protected and whether it is used by foreign actors, he said.

Canada has moved in recent months to align its policy vis-a-vis China closer to that in Washington. For instance, the Liberal government matched the Biden administration's 100% tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles, and a 25% surtax on imports of steel and aluminum products from China.

The U.S. government says China's potential ability to use TikTok to wage information warfare and spy on Americans represents a national-security threat and it argues that divestiture from Chinese ownership is the only assurance of defusing the danger. TikTok is attempting to prevent the U.S. government from forcing the social-media app to sever its ties with China via the courts.

Earlier Wednesday, Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said government officials share the same concerns as Washington on China, in particular Beijing's "intentional policy" to flood the market with commodities.

President-elect Donald Trump, during his first term in office, wanted to ban TikTok. But this year, he reversed this decision and said Congress shouldn't ban TikTok over worries it could strengthen Meta Platforms' dominance in the social-media field.

The government's decision to ban ByteDance's Canadian unit but not the actual TikTok app was "curious," said Michael Geist, an internet-law professor at the University of Ottawa. "Banning the company rather than the app may actually make matters worse since the risks associated with the app will remain but the ability to hold the company accountable will be weakened," he said.

Last year, the Canadian government followed the lead of the U.S. and European Commission and banned the TikTok app from government-issued devices, citing an "unacceptable" level of risk to privacy and security.

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