TikTok files legal challenge against Canada unit shutdown order

TIKTOK Technology Canada applied for a judicial review to challenge Canada’s order that China’s Bytedance close its subsidiary in the country, citing national security risks.

In the filing at the Federal Court of Canada in Vancouver, the company argued that the government’s order is disproportionate and exceeds officials’ legal scope; that the national security review was procedurally unfair; and that the conclusion of national security harms was “unreasonable”. The filing asks that the order be set aside.

The documents, filed Dec 5, describe a relationship between TikTok and Canadian officials that started with “routine discussions” but hardened over several years. By March 2023, Canadian officials began issuing requests for information for a year and a half, and in September 2023, Canada launched a national security review, which was extended twice, the documents said.

TikTok was not appropriately informed about addressing Canada’s concerns before the closure order was issued, according to the filing.

TikTok’s Canada unit sells advertising space, while the platform itself is provided in Canada by TikTok Pte, a Singapore corporation that also acts as the data controller of Canadian users’ data, the filing said.

The video-sharing platform has more than 14 million monthly users in Canada – a third of the country’s roughly 42 million people. In the 2021 federal election, the document added, TikTok Canada worked with Canada’s elections agency and Privy Council Office “on partnerships to support election integrity” on the app.

A spokesperson for Canada’s Industry and Science Ministry said the government’s decision was informed by a “thorough national security review and advice from Canada’s security and intelligence community”, and it respects the legal process but stands by its decision. The filing was reported earlier Tuesday (Dec 10) by The Canadian Press. BLOOMBERG

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