TORONTO, USA – Canadian TikTok users reported widespread outages on Saturday night, claiming they could not access the app despite it not being banned in Canada.
This comes as TikTok officially went dark in the United States following a federal ban upheld by the Supreme Court on Friday, January 17, 2025.
Canadian Users Frustrated
Social media platform X was flooded with complaints from Canadian TikTok users who received the same warning message shown to U.S. users:
“A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now.”
Many expressed confusion and frustration.
“BRUH WHY ISN’T TIKTOK WORKING FOR ME? I’M IN CANADA????” one user posted. Another wrote, “MY TIKTOK IS BANNED AND I LIVE IN CANADA. WHAT KIND OF S— IS THIS?”
BRUH WHY ISNT TIKTOK WORKING FOR ME IM IN CANADA???? pic.twitter.com/s7D7XKtp1b
— sammy (@theepopprince) January 19, 2025
However, not all Canadian users were affected. Some posted about successfully accessing the app, sharing their amusement at others’ frustrations.
One user quipped, “Me watching my oomfs TikTok get banned as I watch from Canada,” with an attached gif showing a shocked expression.
Technical Spillover
It remains unclear why Canadian users were impacted.
TikTok has not commented on whether the outage in Canada is an unintended consequence of the U.S. ban.
Some users speculated that the ban’s enforcement mechanisms inadvertently disrupted access for users in neighbouring regions.
Attempts to bypass the issue with Canadian-based VPNs were reportedly unsuccessful.
One user posted, “Just put on a VPN for Canada, and TikTok still didn’t work.”
U.S. Ban and TikTok’s Response
The ban, targeting TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance Ltd., took effect Saturday night after a prolonged legal battle.
The U.S. government has cited national security concerns as the reason for the ban, arguing that ByteDance’s Chinese ownership poses risks related to data security and surveillance.
The Supreme Court upheld the ban on Friday, ruling that national security interests outweighed the app’s role as a platform for free speech.
Outgoing President Joe Biden had stated that he would not enforce the ban, but TikTok pre-emptively shut down in the U.S. to comply with the federal law.
As of now, 170 million U.S. users can no longer access the platform, and TikTok has been removed from U.S. app stores.
Users still have the option to download their data by logging into the app’s website.
Potential for Reversal
The ban could be reversed if TikTok is sold to a non-Chinese owner.
So far, no viable buyers have emerged, although reports suggest Elon Musk and YouTuber MrBeast have expressed interest in purchasing the platform.
Until a resolution is reached, TikTok remains inaccessible to millions of users in the U.S. and now, unexpectedly, some in Canada.
The incident underscores the complexities of enforcing digital policies across borders and the potential for unintended consequences.
As TikTok’s future hangs in the balance, users in both countries are left wondering when—or if—they will regain access to the app.
