TikTok filed an application for judicial review with the Federal Court in Vancouver on December 5, challenging the Canadian government’s order to shut down its business operations over national security concerns.

The social media company, which counts 14 million Canadian users representing approximately one-third of the country’s population, seeks to overturn Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne’s directive for TikTok Technology Canada Inc. to cease operations. The order follows a national security review of TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance Ltd.

In court documents made public, TikTok argues that Champagne’s decision was “unreasonable” and “driven by improper purposes.” The company contends that the order is “grossly disproportionate” and that the national security review process was “procedurally unfair.”

The government’s review was conducted under the Investment Canada Act, which permits investigations into foreign investments that could potentially compromise national security. While Champagne cited “specific national security risks” when announcing the decision, his office has not provided detailed explanations of these concerns.

TikTok maintains that Canadian officials “failed to engage with TikTok Canada on the purported substance of the concerns,” leading to the dissolution order. The company claims the government mandated “measures that bear no rational connection to the national security risks it identifies” and that the reasoning provided is “unintelligible” and “rife with logical fallacies.”

Notably, the Canadian government’s order does not restrict access to the TikTok app itself, which will remain available to Canadian users. The company’s Canadian presence includes offices in Toronto and Vancouver.

ByteDance, which relocated its headquarters to Singapore in 2020, faces mounting pressure in Western markets. The company is confronting a potential ban in the United States and increased scrutiny in Europe, particularly regarding allegations of Moscow-coordinated election influence campaigns.

TikTok also argues that less severe alternatives to closing its Canadian operations were available. The company warns that the shutdown would eliminate hundreds of jobs, jeopardize existing business contracts, and “cause the destruction of significant economic opportunities.”

According to the Associated Press, in response to TikTok’s legal filing, Champagne’s office stated that the government’s decision was based on a “thorough national security review and advice from Canada’s security and intelligence community.”