Canada’s federal court has invalidated a government directive to shut down TikTok’s operations in Canada, allowing the popular short-form video app to continue its services for the time being. Federal court judge Russel Zinn, in a brief ruling on Wednesday, overturned the order and referred the matter back to Industry Minister Mélanie Joly for reassessment without providing specific reasons.
A spokesperson from Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada informed CBC News via email that the issue would now be reevaluated by Minister Joly through a fresh national security review. Due to the confidentiality regulations of the Investment Canada Act, detailed comments on the review were not disclosed.
TikTok expressed its satisfaction with the court decision to set aside the shutdown order, as conveyed by a company representative to Radio-Canada later that Wednesday. The spokesperson stated, “[We] anticipate collaborating with the minister to reach a resolution that serves the best interests of the over 14 million Canadian TikTok users.” Retaining TikTok’s Canadian workforce will facilitate a way forward that continues to bolster significant investments in Canada and sustains hundreds of local jobs.
In November 2024, Canada’s industry ministry had initially directed the dissolution of TikTok’s business citing national security concerns, clarifying that user access and content creation would not be impeded. TikTok promptly challenged this decision.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has been actively pursuing strengthened connections with China to mitigate the adverse effects of U.S. tariffs on the Canadian economy. Alongside Canada, several countries have been closely monitoring TikTok due to apprehensions that Beijing could exploit the app to gather user data or further its own interests, given that TikTok is under the ownership of Chinese company ByteDance.
Last September, TikTok committed to enhancing its safeguards to prevent children from accessing its Canadian platform after an investigation revealed inadequacies in its measures to block minors and safeguard personal data.
