Canada On Wednesday he ordered the liquidation of TikTok’s Canadian subsidiary, citing “specific risks to national security.”but without prohibiting access and use of the application in the country.
The Canadian government’s announcement means that TikTok will have to close offices in Toronto and Vancouver.
Ottawa imposed the measure “due to the specific national security risks posed by ByteDance Ltd.’s activities in Canada,” Canadian Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne said in a statement.
Owned by the Chinese giant ByteDance and with more than one billion monthly active users, they say, TikTok was the subject of an audit in Canada, which began in September 2023, after the Government banned the application of ““smart phones” government officials in February of this year, citing “an unacceptable level of risk” to privacy and security.
“This decision was based on information and evidence collected as part of the analysis, as well as the opinions of Canada’s national security and intelligence agencies and other government partners,” the minister added.
However, he added that The government “will not ban Canadians from accessing the TikTok app or prevent them from creating content”leaving the choice up to users, while warning against possible use of their personal information “by foreign actors.”
TikTok has already indicated that intends to challenge the decision in court.
“Closing TikTok’s Canadian offices and destroying hundreds of well-paying local jobs is not in anyone’s best interest and that is precisely what today’s closure order is intended to do. [quarta-feira] will do,” a company spokesperson told the France-Presse news agency.
For Michael Geist, an Internet law expert at the University of Ottawa, the announcement “does not solve the broader privacy problem facing Canadians.”
“Banning the company instead of the app could make the situation worse, as the risks associated with the app will remain, but the ability to hold the company accountable will be weakened,” Geist said in a blog post.
TikTok has also been in the crosshairs of US authorities for several months, who believe that the short video application potentially allows the Chinese government to spy on and manipulate US citizens.
The US Congress passed a law in April requiring Chinese owners to sell the app or face a ban in the United States. The company has always denied these allegations and is currently challenging the law in a US federal court.
Source: Observadora
