Court rules TikTok can continue to operate in Canada for now

By David Ljunggren Jan 21 (Reuters) – Canada's federal court on Wednesday overturned a government order to close TikTok's Canadian operations, allowing the short-video app to keep operating for now, and told Ottawa to review the case. In November 2024, Canada's industry ministry ordered TikTok's business to be dissolved, citing national security risks, but added the government was not blocking access or users' ability to create content. TikTok, which says it has more than 14 million monthly users in Canada, appealed the decision. In a short judgment, federal court judge Russel Zinn set aside the order and sent the matter back to Industry Minister Melanie Joly for review. He did not give any reasons. The industry ministry said Joly "will now proceed with a new national security review," adding that it was not in a position to comment further, citing legal confidentiality provisions. In a statement, TikTok welcomed the decision and said it looked forward to working with Joly. Prime Minister Mark Carney has been seeking closer ties to China to help offset the damage done to the Canadian economy by U.S. tariffs. Canada and other nations have been scrutinizing TikTok because of concerns China could use the app to harvest users' data or advance its interests. TikTok is owned by Chinese company ByteDance. Last September, TikTok agreed to improve its measures to keep children off its Canadian website and app after an investigation found its efforts to block children and protect personal information were inadequate. (Reporting David Ljunggren, Costas Pitas and Kanishka Singh; Editing by David Gregorio)

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