TikTok gets green light to stay in Canada, reversing earlier ban

Canada will allow TikTok to continue operating in the country, a complete reversal after the government had previously ordered the social media company to close its Canadian division for security reasons.In November 2024, under former prime minister Justin Trudeau, Canada ordered ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese owner, to wind down its Canadian subsidiary.That would not have banned the app’s use but would have forced its offices in Toronto and Vancouver to close.But in January, that order was set aside following a legal motion from the government – just days after Mark Carney became the first Canadian prime minister in more than eight years to visit China, where he announced a deal with President Xi Jinping to relax tariffs.TikTok-technology-Canada" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="41830" data-entity-type="organization">TikTok Technology Canada will now be allowed to operate under new legally binding commitments to enhance its security, Canadian Industry Minister Melanie Joly said in a statement on Monday, saying the decision followed a fresh security review.WATCH: Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Canadian PM Mark CarneyWATCH: Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Canadian PM Mark CarneyTikTok will add “security gateways and privacy-enhancing technologies to control access to Canadian user data in order to reduce the risk of unauthorised or prohibited access”, Joly said. Her statement provided no details on how that would work.