TikTok shutdown order leaves employees hanging

Article content

OTTAWA — The Liberal government’s move to order the closure of TikTok’s Canadian operations over national security concerns has left hundreds of Canadian employees at the company in limbo.

Article content

Article content

Ottawa has not publicly set a date by which TikTok must comply, and while the company has pledged to fight the order in court, it is also talking to the government in hopes of finding a “solution.”

Article content

On November 6, the federal government announced that it had ordered the dissolution of TikTok’s Canadian business following a national security review of the Chinese company behind the social media platform. This means TikTok must “wind down” its operations in Canada, although the app will remain available to Canadians.

When the government made the announcement, Erin Luers was on Take Your Child to Work Day, doing a sneaker painting activity with her niece. TikTok arranged interviews with her and several other affected employees for The Canadian Press.

The company was hosting teens that day, telling them “all about how great our job is, how much we love doing what we do, and how we got to our positions,” recalls Lorz, music lead for the company’s global public policy and product team.

“You have to put on a brave face,” she said. “I can’t sit there and tell my niece the truth about what could happen.”

Vanessa Jake, executive director of brand partnerships, said people fear losing their jobs before the holidays.

“There are a lot of people who are trying to get into power, and they have a really good attitude. But right now, I think the silence and not getting any answers has been really worrying for a lot of people on the team.

Article content

Article content

Neil Cameron, TikTok’s head of Canadian agency partnerships, said the energy in the office is changing “day by day.”

“People are really trying to put on a brave face, but it’s really hard when you’re facing that much uncertainty.”

Steve D. Ayer, the company’s director of public policy and government affairs, went about business as usual — which includes lobbying the same federal government that ordered the company to close its doors.

He said his work includes “making sure government agencies, members of parliament and regulators understand the impact of this.”

De Ayer said TikTok Canada hopes to find a “solution” to the situation.

“We continue and will continue to emphasize to the government our desire to find a solution that is in the best interests of Canadians.”

The government seems not convinced. A spokesman for Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said that the government’s decision is final, and there is no other possibility.

The review that banned the company from operating in Canada was implemented through the Investment Canada Act, which allows the government to investigate any foreign investment potentially harmful to national security.

Article content

The decision was the result of a “multi-step national security review process, which includes rigorous scrutiny by Canada’s national security and intelligence community,” Champagne said in a statement on Nov. 6.

She said the government was taking measures to address “specific national security risks,” although she did not specify what those risks were. Champagne said the Investment Canada Act does not allow him to disclose details of the review.

Privacy and safety concerns have spread around TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance Ltd. It is based in China, due to Chinese national security laws that force organizations in the country to assist in intelligence gathering.

In the United States, these concerns could lead to the same app being banned in the new year.

Last week, a US court ruled that the law requiring ByteDance to divest its stakes in TikTok or face a ban is constitutional. On Monday, TikTok asked the court to prevent the administration of US President Joe Biden from implementing the law. It argues that if the law is not repealed, the app will be shut down by January 19, 2025, affecting more than 170 million US users.

Article content

While the app will remain available to Canadian users, one argument against closing Canadian offices is that doing so would make it harder for the government to regulate TikTok.

De Eyre said the company has been involved in several pieces of legislation — participating in the process of passing and implementing the Internet Broadcasting Act, for example, and partnering with Elections Canada in the recent federal election to provide information about voting.

He points out that his team is also Canadian. “We have all worked in government. We all love this country. We understand the political system.”

“We believe it is in everyone’s interest to have employees in Canada who work under Canadian law, pay Canadian taxes, and provide translation for the platform.”

The prospect of closing TikTok’s offices has these employees thinking about what’s next.

Cameron said the potential ban would have a significant personal and professional impact, given that one or two similar roles exist in Canada. “I have worked hard for 27 years in this industry to earn this role.”

Likewise, Lorz said it would be very difficult for her to find another similar job in Canada.

“I may have to leave the country.”

—With files from The Associated Press

Article content