The ordered closure of TikTok’s Canadian operations over national security concerns will make it more difficult to force the company to cooperate with privacy investigations, Canada’s privacy commissioner said Tuesday.
Philippe Dufresne testified to MPs on the House of Commons ethics committee who are scrutinizing the federal government’s order last month that TikTok Canada wind up its operations following a national security review.
The government hasn’t shared the specific national security risks that led to the windup order, but has said it won’t prevent Canadians from using the app.
The company filed documents in Federal Court in Vancouver last Thursday to challenge the government’s order.
Dufresne — whose office and provincial counterparts are currently investigating whether TikTok unlawfully collected and shared younger users’ information — said privacy laws allow his office to seek a Canadian court order to force a company to provide evidence and testimony during an investigation.
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“Certainly in terms …