TikTok's Canada unit seeks judicial review of shutdown orders

TikTok's Canada unit filed an emergency motion with Canada's Federal Court seeking a judicial review of an order that the company shut down its operations in the country on national security concerns, it said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Chinese-owned social media app requested the court set aside a government order requiring TikTok to wind-up its business in Canada, a filing dated Dec. 5 showed.

As an alternative, the filing said the court could set aside the order and return it to the government for review along with guidance.

Ottawa last year began investigating TikTok's plan to invest and expand its business in Canada.

The review led to a government order last month that required the firm to end its Canadian operations because of national security concerns.

Closing its Canadian business would lead to hundreds of job losses, TikTok argued in its statement on the legal challenge.

"We believe it's in the best interest of Canadians to find a meaningful solution and ensure that a local team remains in place, alongside the TikTok platform," it said.

Under Canadian law, the government can assess potential risks to national security from foreign investments, such as the TikTok proposal. The law prevents the government from revealing the details of such investments.

Last month's order stopped short of blocking Canadians' access to the popular social media platform. TikTok has more than 14 million monthly users in Canada, according to the company.

Canada's Ministry of Innovation, Science and Industry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment outside regular business hours.

The Canadian order followed similar action in the US where President Joe Biden in April signed a law requiring Bytedance, which owns TikTok, to sell its US assets by Jan. 19, 2025 or face a nationwide ban.

On Monday, TikTok and Bytedance separately asked an appeals court to temporarily block the law pending a Supreme Court review.