Late Wednesday, November 7, the Government of Canada announced that it was ordering TikTok’s offices in Canada to shut down after a “national security review”. While the Government has indicated the app will remain available in Canada and Canadian creators will continue to be able to upload content to TikTok, it means that TikTok will no longer be able to offer local support for the Digital Creator community.
Digital First Canada is deeply disappointed in this seemingly arbitrary decision. While we appreciate that some have concerns regarding TikTok, user data and foreign interference, closing TikTok’s Canadian offices does not in any way address these concerns and only harms the Digital Creator community. Further, the Government’s assertion that this decision only affects TikTok employees, “most of whom aren’t Canadian citizens”, is completely untrue, as we all know many Canadians working at TikTok and the decision directly affects all Canadian creators on TikTok. In our view, this calls the entire factual basis for this decision into serious question.
TikTok Canada has rejected the Government’s allegations and will be challenging the Government’s shut-down order in court. In the meantime, it is important that the Canadian digital creator community ensure the Government understands that this decision will negatively impact Canadian creators.
What Can You Do?
- Send an email to the responsible Minister, Francois-Philippe Champagne, to express your concerns. To make this easier for you, we’ve pulled together a rough draft for you to revise and personalize as you feel appropriate
- Stay informed. Follow DFC on twitter / X for information on the latest developments https://twitter.com/DigitalFirstCan
- Get involved. Email [email protected] if you are a Creator that would like to be more active in the important upcoming activities
We are extremely grateful for all the support, emails and phone calls made by Digital Creators and their fans, and we will not stop fighting.
Additional Resources
Draft Email
Dear Minister Champagne,
I am writing to express my deep concerns with your recent decision to shut down Tikok’s offices in Canada.
As a Canadian digital creator, I value the support TikTok offers to the Canadian creative community from its Canadian offices, and your Government’s order to shut down those offices will eliminate that support and harm the Canadian digital creator community.
While I appreciate your assurances that the TikTok app will still be available to Canadians, and that I will still be able to upload my content, without a local presence TikTok will not be able to support the local community through creator funding, workshops or other forms of support. Furthermore, my understanding is that your Government’s national security concerns are primarily around foreign access to TikTok’s user data, so I do not understand how shutting down local offices and creator support while continuing to allow Canadians to access the app in any way addresses this concern. Instead, you’re just punishing Canadian creators by eliminating our local support.
Unfortunately, your decision continues a well-established trend of your Government enacting laws and regulations and making decisions that negatively impact new and emerging sectors like digital content creators. I would expect the Minister of Innovation to be more supportive of innovative digital creators, or at least avoid actions that harm that community, especially when the benefits are unclear.
I sincerely hope you’ll reconsider this terrible decision.
X
