Canadian TikTok users likely won’t notice any changes to the app after a new deal involving U.S. investors, a cybersecurity expert says.
Robert Falzon of Check Point Software Technologies says the agreement mainly affects the United States and has little impact on Canadians. Canadians will continue using the international version of TikTok, which is still owned and influenced by Chinese company ByteDance.
TikTok has signed deals with major investors, including Oracle and Silver Lake, to create a new U.S.-based joint venture expected to launch in January. Under the deal, U.S. user data will be stored in America, and TikTok’s algorithm in the U.S. will be trained only on American data.
In Canada, TikTok user data will continue to be stored overseas, and ByteDance will still influence how the app works.
Canada ordered TikTok to shut down its Canadian offices in 2024 but did not ban the app. The federal government has also banned TikTok from government-issued mobile devices over security concerns.
