{"id":252620,"date":"2026-03-10T11:37:19","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T11:37:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/?p=252620"},"modified":"2026-03-10T11:37:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T11:37:19","slug":"tiktok-avoids-shutdown-in-canada-after-security-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/tiktok-avoids-shutdown-in-canada-after-security-review\/","title":{"rendered":"TikTok avoids shutdown in Canada after security review"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\">Canada will allow TikTok to continue operating in the country, reversing a government order issued over a year ago that would have forced the video-sharing app to shut its Canadian offices.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The decision was announced Monday (March 9) by Industry Minister <b>M\u00e9lanie<\/b> <b>Joly<\/b>, who said a fresh national security review under the<b> Investment Canada Act<\/b> had concluded that <b>TikTok<\/b> could remain, subject to new legally binding commitments around data security and child safety.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Joly said: \u201cThe decision follows a thorough assessment of the information and evidence gathered during the review process, including advice from Canada\u2019s security and intelligence community and other government partners. Protecting Canadians\u2019 data and the safety of children online will always be a top priority of the government.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">      <div class=\"mb-advert__incontent\">      <div class=\"mb-advert mb-advert__tweeny hidden-xs hidden-ms hidden-sm\" data-loaded=\"no\" data-sizes=\"992 1200 1440\" data-name=\"628x90 Sponsor banner #5 (992+1200+1440)\" data-params=\"dfp_sponsor5_628\" id=\"dfp_sponsor5_628\"><\/div>      <div class=\"mb-advert mb-advert__banner mb-advert__banner--inline hidden-xs hidden-sm hidden-md hidden-lg\" data-loaded=\"no\" data-sizes=\"480\" data-name=\"468x60 Sponsor banner #5 (480)\" data-params=\"dfp_sponsor5_468\" id=\"dfp_sponsor5_468\"><\/div>      <div class=\"mb-advert mb-advert__mobile mb-advert__mobile--inline hidden-ms hidden-md hidden-lg\" data-loaded=\"no\" data-sizes=\"320 768\" data-name=\"300x50 Sponsor banner #5 (320+768)\" data-params=\"dfp_sponsor5_300\" id=\"dfp_sponsor5_300\"><\/div>      <\/div>      <\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">In November 2024, under then-Prime Minister <b>Justin<\/b> <b>Trudeau<\/b>, Canada ordered TikTok\u2019s Chinese parent <b>ByteDance<\/b> to wind down <b>TikTok<\/b> <b>Technology Canada<\/b>. That order would not have banned Canadians from using the app, but it would have closed the company&#8217;s offices in Toronto and Vancouver. TikTok at the time said it would <a href=\"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/tiktok-vows-court-battle-as-canada-orders-shutdown-of-local-subsidiary\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">challenge<\/a> the order in court.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">In January, a Federal Court judge set the order aside at the government&#8217;s request, days after Prime Minister Mark Carney became the first Canadian leader in more than eight years to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pm.gc.ca\/en\/news\/news-releases\/2026\/01\/16\/prime-minister-carney-forges-new-strategic-partnership-peoples\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">visit China<\/a>, where he struck a deal with President Xi Jinping to ease tariffs.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cThe decision follows a thorough assessment of the information and evidence gathered during the review process, including advice from Canada\u2019s security and intelligence community and other government partners.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>M\u00e9lanie<\/b> <b>Joly<\/b>, Canada&#8217;s Industry Minister<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"p1\">Under the new terms, TikTok will implement what Joly described as &#8220;security gateways and privacy-enhancing technologies&#8221; to limit access to Canadian user data and reduce the risk of unauthorized use.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Joly said the company has also committed to enhanced protections for minors, in line with recommendations from Canada&#8217;s Privacy Commissioner, and an independent third-party monitor will be appointed to audit and verify data-access controls on an ongoing basis, an approach Joly said mirrors the framework the European Union has applied.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">      <div class=\"mb-advert__incontent\">      <div class=\"mb-advert mb-advert__spu\" data-loaded=\"no\" data-name=\"300x250 Sponsor MPU #1\" data-params=\"dfp_spu1\" id=\"dfp_spu1\"><\/div>      <\/div>      <\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">In June last year, TikTok said it had over<a href=\"https:\/\/newsroom.tiktok.com\/tiktok-world-canada-2025?lang=en-150\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> <b>14 million <\/b>users<\/a> in Canada, about<b> 35%<\/b> of the country\u2019s over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.worldometers.info\/world-population\/canada-population\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>40 million<\/b> population<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Joly added: \u201cThe Government of Canada will exercise its full authorities under the Investment Canada Act and ensure the full implementation and enforcement of the measures committed to by TikTok Canada, via the undertakings outlined above, and following the report of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. As this work continues, we are actively pursuing measures to make social media safer for young Canadians and reviewing recent initiatives introduced in other countries.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The minister said the decision \u201cwill protect Canadian jobs, ensuring that TikTok Canada maintains a physical presence in Canada, with commitments to invest in its cultural sector.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">      <div class=\"mb-advert__incontent\">      <div class=\"mb-advert mb-advert__spu\" data-loaded=\"no\" data-name=\"300x250 Sponsor MPU #2\" data-params=\"dfp_spu2\" id=\"dfp_spu2\"><\/div>      <\/div>      <\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cTikTok Canada will support the growth of Canadian creators, artists and cultural organizations, while strengthening the production and accessibility of Canadian cultural content in both official and Indigenous languages across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cTikTok Canada will support the growth of Canadian creators, artists and cultural organizations, while strengthening the production and accessibility of Canadian cultural content in both official and Indigenous languages across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><b>M\u00e9lanie<\/b> <b>Joly<\/b>, Canada&#8217;s Industry Minister<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">In the neighboring US, after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/tiktok-ceo-says-we-arent-going-anywhere-after-president-biden-signs-divest-or-ban-bill-into-law2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">years<\/a> of legislative and legal battles, TikTok <a href=\"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/tiktok-closes-deal-to-form-new-american-entity-dodging-us-shutdown\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">finalized a deal<\/a> in January to allow it to remain operational. The <a href=\"https:\/\/usdsjv.tiktok.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC<\/a> functions as an independent entity with a seven-member board that includes TikTok CEO Shou Chew.<\/p>\n<p class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal leading-[1.7]\">The new arrangement keeps ByteDance as a minority stakeholder with a 19.9% holding, while three managing investors \u2014 Silver Lake, Oracle, and MGX \u2014 each hold 15% stakes. A further 30.1% is held by affiliates of existing ByteDance investors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>TikTok will implement &#8220;security gateways and privacy-enhancing technologies&#8221; in Canada under the new terms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":252636,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[674,5874],"class_list":["post-252620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-canada","tag-tiktok"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=252620"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252620\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":252639,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252620\/revisions\/252639"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/252636"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=252620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=252620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=252620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}