General
Canada Sends Mixed Signals With TikTok Shutdown Order
The industry minister closed TikTok’s offices in Toronto and Vancouver over security concerns, but Canadians can still download and use the app.
This week Canada shut down TikTok — but not in the way that some people had been expecting.
[Read: Canada Shuts TikTok’s Offices Over National Security Risks]
Canada has ordered TikTok to close its offices in Toronto and Vancouver.Credit…Damian Dovarganes/Associated Press
After a foreign investment review, François-Philippe Champagne, the industry minister, ordered the closure of TikTok’s offices in Vancouver and Toronto that sell advertising and provide technical support and development for the app.
Exactly why the government acted remains foggy. And during a news conference the day after, Mr. Champagne repeatedly emphasized that Canada wasn’t banning use of the app itself by Canadians. (The government previously banned its use on government-issued phones.)
The announcement said the decision to shut down TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese tech giant ByteDance, had come after “rigorous scrutiny by Canada’s national security and intelligence community.” Citing security laws, Mr. Champagne said he couldn’t tell reporters anything about what that review had unearthed.
When pressed at the news conference about why it was OK for Canadians to keep using TikTok despite the apparent security threat, Mr. Champagne avoided answering and again pointed to legal limitations. His powers, he said, are restricted to reviewing and approving or rejecting investments by foreign companies in Canada — in other words, apps are not his department.
