(Ottawa) TikTok is contesting the federal government’s order to cease operations in Canada, saying the decision will eliminate hundreds of jobs in the country in addition to jeopardizing a quarter of millions of contracts with advertisers.
Posted at 7:34 p.m.
Updated at 9:43 p.m.
Darryl Greer and Anja Karadeglija
The Canadian Press
The company filed documents in Vancouver Federal Court on Dec. 5, seeking to overturn the order to wind up and cease operations in Canada.
In November, Ottawa ordered the dissolution of TikTok’s Canadian operations after a national security review into the Chinese company behind the social media platform.
TikTok should therefore gradually end its activities in Canada, although the application will continue to be available to Canadians.
TikTok is asking the court to rescind the government order and suspend its entry into force while the court hears the case.
The company says the decision was unreasonable and “motivated by improper objectives.”
“TikTok Canada provides hundreds of Canadians with well-paying jobs and contributes millions of dollars per year to the Canadian economy,” the application states. Through the TikTok platform, Canadian businesses and content creators can reach a global audience of over 1 billion monthly users.”
The review was carried out under the Investment Canada Actwhich allows the government to investigate any foreign investment that could harm national security.
The Minister of Industry, François-Philippe Champagne, declared in a press release at the time that the government was taking measures to face “specific risks to national security”, without however specifying what these risks were.
TikTok’s legal application states that Mr. Champagne “failed to engage with TikTok Canada about the alleged substance of the concerns that led to the order.”
The company argues that the government ordered “measures that have no rational connection to the national security risks it identifies.”
She says the reasons for the order “are unintelligible, do not reveal a rational chain of analysis, and are full of logical fallacies.”
TikTok Canada also says it “participates in important Canadian public policy issues at the federal and provincial level, including those related to online safety, elections and culture.”
The company filing states that TikTok Canada “worked with Elections Canada and the Privy Council Office on partnerships to support election integrity on the TikTok platform.”
TikTok says Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada’s foreign investment and economic security review directorate abruptly ended the company’s national security review at the end of October and ordered the company to end its Canadian operations a week later.
The company’s legal filing says there were “less onerous” options than ordering the shutdown, which it says “will result in the destruction of significant economic opportunities and intangible benefits for creators, artists and Canadian businesses, in addition to the Canadian cultural community in general.”
The company’s law firm, Osler Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, declined to comment.
A spokesperson for Minister Champagne assured that the government’s decision was informed by a “thorough review of national security and advice from the Canadian security and intelligence community.”
A TikTok spokesperson said in a statement that the order would “eliminate the jobs and livelihoods of our hundreds of dedicated local employees – who support the community of more than 14 million monthly Canadian users on TikTok, including businesses, advertisers, creators and initiatives developed specifically for Canada.”
