Canada’s federal court has reversed a government directive to shut down TikTok’s operations in Canada, allowing the popular short-form video app to continue functioning for the time being. In a brief ruling issued on Wednesday, federal court judge Russel Zinn overturned the order and referred the matter back to Industry Minister Mélanie Joly for further examination without providing specific reasons.

Upon being approached for comments, both Innovation, Science, and Economic Development and Joly’s office did not immediately respond. TikTok expressed satisfaction with the court’s decision to set aside the shutdown order, as conveyed by a company spokesperson to Radio-Canada on Wednesday afternoon. The spokesperson mentioned, “[We] anticipate collaborating with the minister to reach a resolution that aligns with the best interests of over 14 million Canadian TikTok users.”

The decision to retain TikTok’s Canadian workforce was praised by the company, emphasizing that it paves the way for ongoing support of substantial investments in Canada and the preservation of hundreds of local jobs. The industry ministry had initially instructed the dissolution of TikTok’s business in November 2024 due to national security concerns, while clarifying that access to the platform and content creation by users would not be impeded. TikTok chose to challenge this directive.

Prime Minister Mark Carney has been actively pursuing stronger relations with China to counterbalance the adverse effects of U.S. tariffs on the Canadian economy. Amid global apprehensions, including those from Canada, regarding potential data exploitation and geopolitical motives by Beijing through TikTok, owned by Chinese firm ByteDance, the scrutiny on the app continues.

TikTok had previously committed to enhancing its safeguards to prevent minors from accessing its Canadian platform following an investigation that revealed deficiencies in the company’s child protection and data privacy measures in September.