Canada’s federal court has overturned a government directive to shut down TikTok’s operations in Canada, granting the short-form video app the ability to continue its services for the time being. Federal court judge Russel Zinn issued a brief ruling on Wednesday, setting aside the closure order and referring the matter back to Industry Minister Mélanie Joly for reassessment without providing specific reasons.
A representative from Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada informed CBC News via email that the issue has been returned to the minister for a new national security evaluation. Due to the confidentiality regulations of the Investment Canada Act, further commentary on the review is not feasible, as stated by the spokesperson.
TikTok expressed satisfaction with the decision to revoke the shutdown order, as conveyed by a company spokesperson to Radio-Canada later that day. The spokesperson expressed eagerness to collaborate with the minister to find a resolution that serves the best interests of over 14 million Canadian TikTok users. The spokesperson highlighted that maintaining TikTok’s Canadian workforce will facilitate a way forward that sustains significant investments in Canada and numerous local employment opportunities.
In November 2024, Canada’s industry ministry had instructed the dissolution of TikTok’s business, citing national security concerns, while clarifying that access and content creation for users were not being restricted. TikTok contested the ruling.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has been pursuing stronger relations with China to help offset the negative impacts of U.S. tariffs on the Canadian economy. Various countries, including Canada, have been closely monitoring TikTok amid apprehensions that Beijing might exploit the app for data collection or to further its own objectives, given that TikTok is under the ownership of Chinese company ByteDance.
In a separate development, TikTok had agreed in September to enhance its safeguards to prevent children from accessing its Canadian platform following an investigation that revealed shortcomings in its efforts to block underage users and safeguard personal information.