Federal government orders closure of Canadian TikTok office

The federal government stopped short of ordering people to stay off of the Chinese Social Media platform entirely.

Canadians can still access TikTok and create and share content and videos on it, but the news adds to the growing security concerns with the company.

Canada’s industry minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said that the decision was based on the information and evidence collected over the course of a multi-step national security review process.

TikTok has already been at the centre of privacy and safety issues in Canada and the U.S., and by the European Union.

The platform is owned by the Chinese company Byte-dance. There are worries that the company is collecting private data from some of its Western users or may use the technology to feed misinformation.

TikTok users across the country will still have access to the platform and app itself but are encouraged to adopt good cybersecurity practices while online when it comes to how their information is used.

Media experts say that the lack of information about what led to the decision is concerning.

The company says that it plans to challenge the dissolution order in court.

“Shutting down TikTok’s Canadian offices and destroying hundreds of well-paying local jobs is not in anyone’s best interest, and the shutdown order will do just that,” a statement said.

There’s no word yet when the Canadian business operations are required to stop.