With everyone's eyes fixed on how a new Trump administration in the U.S. will interface with China Tech in the years ahead, its neighbor to the north landed a blow to one of the largest apps to emerge from the country.
Canada has ordered the closure of operations in Canada by ByteDance, specifically the offices of TikTok Technology Canada, Inc., based on national security risks. Those risks do not reach the application itself: Consumers can continue downloading, using and creating content for TikTok, and businesses can continue to advertise on it. "The use of a social media application or platform is a decision where individuals are free to exercise their own judgment," said François-Philippe Champagne, Canada's Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, in a statement.

The statement said nothing about specific security risks. But the company has long been under scrutiny over how it handles user data on the platform. Critics argue the company variously that user data is being harvested by China in ways that cannot be fully audited. TikTok has repeatedly denied that this is the case.

According to a statement by TikTok to TechCrunch, the closure would impact "hundreds" of jobs in Canada, which it would appeal.

The closing of TikTok's Canadian offices and elimination of hundreds of good-paying local jobs isn't in anyone's best interest, and today's order to shut down will just that," a spokesperson said in a statement. "We will be challenging this order in court. The TikTok platform will continue available for creators to find an audience, explore new interests, and for businesses to thrive.

It was recruiting dozens of new positions related to operations, engineering, and marketing in various locations within the country.

TikTok, according to one estimate, has around 15 million registered users in Canada, working out to a penetration of about 41% of the population. But like elsewhere, among adults, it's the 18-to-24 age groups that are more engaged, according to eMarketer. That study doesn't cover children, though—as we know, also TikTok-addicted. Which is a controversy in itself because there are questions regarding the mental health of children.

Despite its mega-popularity, TikTok has been simmering in hot water in Canada for a while now. This latest development is the result of a national security review under the "Investment in Canada" Act. That review was prompted after Canada banned the use of TikTok on all government devices in February 2023. That ban remains intact.

This could have also affected how the company develops further services within the country due to its precarious nature. TikTok Shop-the company's in-app platform for buying and selling goods-was speculated to be launched in Canada by the end of 2023, though it didn't happen. The Creator Rewards Program, where the company pays creators, still has not launched there.

Canada is far from the only country trying to reel in TikTok.

But the specific problems facing TikTok in other countries are part of a much broader reassessment of social media generally. Just yesterday, for example, the government in Australia announced a proposal to ban all social media for users under the age of 16.

International government attention around national security and TikTok really began under the last Trump administration, when the president enumerated a plan to ban the app within the country--where it now boasts 170 million users--unless the workings there were separated and sold to an entity of the United States. Four years later, that case there remains in play, as TikTok recently appealed a signed order to sell its U.S. app operations by January 2025.

It's anyone's guess what will happen next, as Trump, ironically, reversed course over the summer. "I'm for TikTok because you need competition," he said in July after joining the app himself.