Canada’s federal court has reversed a government directive to shut down TikTok’s operations in Canada, allowing the popular short-form video app to remain active for now. The decision was made by federal court judge Russel Zinn, who set aside the closure order and referred the matter back to Industry Minister Mélanie Joly for further evaluation without providing specific reasons.
In response to the ruling, a spokesperson for Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada stated that the issue will undergo a new national security review led by Minister Joly. Due to confidentiality regulations outlined in the Investment Canada Act, no further details on the review were disclosed.
TikTok expressed satisfaction with the court’s decision to suspend the shutdown order, emphasizing their willingness to collaborate with the minister to reach a resolution that benefits the over 14 million Canadian TikTok users. Maintaining TikTok’s Canadian workforce will support ongoing investments in Canada and preserve hundreds of local jobs.
In November 2024, Canada’s industry ministry had initially ordered the dissolution of TikTok’s business in the country, citing national security concerns. However, the government clarified that access to the app and content creation by users were unaffected. TikTok contested the decision, leading to the recent court ruling.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has been advocating for closer relations with China to mitigate the impact of U.S. tariffs on the Canadian economy. Like other countries, Canada has been monitoring TikTok over fears of potential data harvesting or influence by Beijing, given that the platform is owned by Chinese company ByteDance.
TikTok had previously committed to enhancing its safeguards to prevent children from accessing its Canadian platform following an investigation that revealed shortcomings in its child protection and data privacy measures.