Canada’s federal court blocks government mandate to close TikTok’s operations

Kenya, January 22,2026 -TikTok won a temporary reprieve in its ongoing global fight against regulatory pressure on Wednesday after Canada’s federal court overturned a government order to shut down the company’s Canadian operations, allowing the short-video platform to continue operating for now.

In a brief ruling, Federal Court judge Russel Zinn set aside a November 2024 decision by Canada’s industry ministry that ordered TikTok’s business in the country to be dissolved on national security grounds. The judge sent the matter back to Industry Minister Melanie Joly for review, without providing reasons for the decision.

The ruling preserves TikTok’s corporate presence in Canada and marks the latest instance in which the company has managed to delay or soften government action through legal challenges, even as scrutiny of the app intensifies across Western democracies.

TikTok, which says it has more than 14 million monthly users in Canada, welcomed the court’s decision and said it looked forward to working with Joly during the renewed review process.

Canada’s industry ministry said the minister “will now proceed with a new national security review,” but declined to comment further, citing legal confidentiality requirements.

Governments in Canada, the United States and Europe have increasingly scrutinized TikTok over concerns that its Chinese ownership could allow Beijing to access user data or exert political influence. TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a China-based technology company. TikTok has repeatedly denied that it shares data with the Chinese government or operates under its direction.

While the November order would have dissolved TikTok’s Canadian business, it stopped short of banning the app outright or blocking users from creating content. Still, the move was widely seen as a significant escalation in Ottawa’s approach to foreign-owned digital platforms.