The Canadian government has demanded that TikTok Technology Canada cease operations in the country due to national security risks. This is reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Canadian authorities have not clarified what national security threat the work of TikTok's local office poses. TikTok, for its part, has said that closing local offices and cutting "hundreds" of jobs "is not in anyone's best interest." The social network owned by the Chinese company ByteDance plans to challenge this decision of the Canadian government.

It is noted that, despite this requirement, the Canadian authorities will not block users' access to the application and will not prohibit them from publishing content.

Michael Geist, a professor of internet law at the University of Ottawa, believes that banning TikTok's office, but not the app, can only make the situation worse, as the risks associated with the service will not disappear, but it will be more difficult to hold the company accountable.

Last year, Canada already banned the use of TikTok on government officials' devices due to security concerns.

TikTok is also facing problems in the US, where it has not been completely banned, but significant steps have been taken to restrict its use, again citing national security concerns. The US government has long been concerned about TikTok's ties to China, as it is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. There are concerns that user data may be accessible to the Chinese government.

In 2020, then-President Donald Trump's administration issued executive orders in an attempt to ban TikTok. These orders were later revoked by the Joe Biden administration. On April 24, 2024, Biden signed legislation requiring ByteDance to either sell TikTok to an American company or shut down the app within a year. ByteDance considers the law unconstitutional and has appealed it.