Google and Apple block TikTok app in India
Google and Apple have blocked TikTok app, which allowed the users to create and share videos from their app stores in India. The move comes after The Madras High Court sent a letter to the companies requesting that they abide by a state court's decision to ban the popular video app. The order says that the app has encouraged pornography and made child users vulnerable to sexual predators.
The move could handicap the app's owner, China's Bytedance Ltd., the world's most highly valued startup, in one of its most promising markets, India.
The government had sent a letter to Apple and Google to abide by the state court’s order, according to an It ministry official. Google has already removed the app from its play store. But the app was still available on Apple’s platform late on Tuesday, which is no longer available now.
TikTok has been downloaded more than 230 million times in India. A third-party investigation into the app and earlier calls from the government led to people asking for TikTok to be banned entirely. M. Manikandan, information technology minister of the Indian state Tamil Nadu, announced in February that the government would recommend the ban. There were concerns from lawmakers that TikTok encouraged teens and young adults to participate in ‘cultural degradation’.
Bytedance declined to comment on the app store decisions, but provided a statement from TikTok India: "We have faith in the Indian judicial system," the company said. "And we are optimistic about an outcome that would be well received by over 120 million monthly active users in India."
Google also said in a statement that it doesn’t comment on individual app but adheres to local laws.
Last week, Bytedance had challenged the state court’s ban order in Supreme Court that it went against ‘freedom of speech’ right. The state court has requested written submissions from the company in the case and has scheduled the next hearing for April 24.
Bytedance, which creates social and news-reading apps, has most of its users and sales in China. But TikTok has exploded in popularity elsewhere, giving Bytedance more global reach than any other Chinese tech company.
