Google blocks Chinese app TikTok in India after court order
After weeks of speculation and legal tussle, India appears to have banned the Chinese video-sharing app TikTok.
One of the most popular mobile apps in the world, TikTok was not available for download in India on Google’s Play Store nor Apple’s App Store since today (April 17) morning.
On April 04, the Madras high court had asked prime minister Narendra Modi’s government to ban the app saying it was encouraging pornography. Earlier this week, India’s supreme court refused to stay the Madras high court’s order imposing a ban on the app.
India is not the first country to take action against the TikTok.
In February, the US federal trade commission (FTC) slapped a fine of $5.7 million (Rs40 crore) on the app to settle allegations of child privacy law violations. The app has been accused of collecting personal data from users under the age of 13 without seeking parental consent. This is the largest civil penalty the FTC has ever collected in a children’s privacy case.
The magnitude of such issues is much bigger in India given that the country is TikTok’s largest market, accounting for almost 40% of the app’s 500 million user base. The current ban, though, does not impact TikTok’s existing users in India.