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Dec 28, 2018
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TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew in a meeting at the European Commission.
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TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew Requests 'Urgent' Meeting with Canadian Minister of Industry Mélanie Joly Amidst Shutdown Order
In a letter obtained by Billboard Canada, Chew writes that without government intervention, "TikTok will be forced to fire all of its Canadian employees.”
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TikTok's global CEO is requesting an urgent meeting with government officials in advance of its ordered shutdown in Canada.
Following an order citing national security risks last November, the social media app is preparing to wind down its Canadian operations. While TikTok has vowed to fight the order, the clock is ticking. Last week, TikTok Canada halted its arts sponsorships throughout the country.
“We are still looking to get to the table,” said Steve de Eyre, director of TikTok’s government affairs for Canada, in an interview with Bloomberg. “Time is running out,” he continued, though the company hasn’t shared a timeline.
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On July 2, TikTok’s CEO, Shou Zi Chew, wrote a letter to Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry Mélanie Joly requesting an urgent in-person meeting within the next two weeks.
In the letter, obtained by Billboard Canada, he writes: “The windup process is rapidly approaching a critical juncture where, unless you intervene, TikTok will be forced to fire all of its Canadian employees.”
The app would also have to halt investment and support for creators, the letter says. TikTok will still be available on app stores for Canadians to download after the proposed shutdown.
Chew’s letter warns that without government intervention, the ByteDance-owned platform will be forced to terminate its entire Canadian workforce. The platform says it has paid $340 million in Canadian taxes from 2019 to 2024, employing about 350 people across its Toronto and Vancouver offices, citing 14 million Canadian users. De Eyre tells Bloomberg that some employees have left for other opportunities since the shutdown order, and they aren't legally allowed to rehire for those roles.
In his letter, Chew criticizes the lack of response to TikTok's requests, especially since the shutdown order came before Mark Carney was elected and while Justin Trudeau was still Prime Minister of Canada.
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"There is no upside to this outdated and counterproductive government order, which was issued under a different government and in a different era, and which doesn't reflect today's reality," he writes.
"This order will only punish Canadian workers and content creators, without addressing supposed security concerns. No evidence has been presented to show that TikTok is itself a security threat to Canada; rather, this order is based on sensationalized reporting and tenuous claims of national security – none of which are addressed by shutting down our local offices."
Chew writes that the company has made repeated requests to discuss solutions through the national security review process, but has not had any substantive discussions with the Canadian government. He proposes solutions through enhanced data security protocols and platform transparency and oversight measures to "provide greater accountability on issues such as online safety, elections and foreign interference."
Though today (July 16) marks his two-week timeframe, Chew has not yet received a meeting with Minister Joly.
TikTok’s Canadian woes reflect global tensions over the app’s Chinese ownership and data security practices. In the U.K., TikTok hired a British firm to audit its data controls and protections to address regulatory concerns. After a delayed order to sell or shut down the U.S. app, President Donald Trump announced he had found a buyer for the country’s operations last month.
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The irony of Canada’s order, de Eyre argues, is that if the shutdown goes through, the country loses “the accountability of having a TikTok entity within Canada’s legal jurisdiction, having employees who are directly accountable to parliament and regulators and law enforcement.”
Additional reporting by Richard Trapunski.
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