TikTok gets green light to stay in Canada, reversing earlier ban
T social media company’s operations and ownership have come under scrutiny around the world
Published Tue, Mar 10, 2026 · 08:50 AM
[VANCOUVER] 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-backed 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 will now be allowed to operate under new legally binding commitments to enhance its security, Canadian Industry Minister Melanie Joly said on Monday (Mar 9), saying the decision followed a fresh security review.
TikTok 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 will work.
The company agreed to enhance protections for minors, and an independent third-party monitor will be appointed “to audit and continuously verify data-access controls”, the minister’s statement added.
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TikTok, which has 16 million users in Canada – more than 35 per cent of the population – will give support to Canadian content creators and cultural organisations, according to a statement from the company.
TikTok’s operations and ownership have come under scrutiny around the world. In January, after years of wrangling, the social media company officially established a US entity with three managing investors: Oracle, private equity firm Silver Lake Management and Abu Dhabi-based investment company MGX. BLOOMBERG
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