Canada Moves to Close TikTok’s Offices in Country

TikTok’s days in Canada might be over if a recent move to shutter its corporate offices is any indicator.

Flag of Canada. Photo by Hermes Rivera

Indeed, social media platforms and the data they gather on their users is a central debate that has raged over the past few years. 

And it doesn’t look set to abate any time soon.

Whether to protect user data or even national security as is alleged, banning a platform like TikTok can have a measurable impact on the digital landscape in a country. After all, apps like TikTok and Instagram are becoming some of the primary means through which people consume media. Imagine banning television networks, for example, and you quickly get an idea why people would be upset.

Luckily for TikTok users in Canada, that’s not what’s happening here so everyone can breathe a sigh of relief. Noting that it is an individual’s choice whether to use an app or not, TikTok users in Canada are safe for now. 

The company’s Canadian subsidiary offices, however, are closed for reasons of Canadian national security.

So, is there anything to the allegations that TikTok undermines national security? 

The Canadian government says that its decision is based upon an investigation and evidence it has gathered but didn’t really enumerate this in detail. We expect that will become front and center in Canadian courtrooms where ByteDance has promised to challenge the closure of its subsidiary’s offices. 

All of this highlights TikTok’s upcoming ban in the United States, effective January 19th, unless the company spins off the American subsidiary as an independent company. While this is being challenged in court, there are reasons to believe that the new administration in Washington, DC will act to avert a ban on TikTok or ignore enforcement entirely. 

Given how valuable both the user data as well as the potential data for AI training can be, we expect that platforms like TikTok will likely face more scrutiny – not less – in the future even if they are able to escape an outright ban. 

Any thoughts that you might have on platforms like TikTok are welcome in the comments.

We have some other news for you to read at this link.