An Indian court has banned TikTok for ‘encouraging pornography’
Apr 5, 2019, 08:32 IST
- The popular video-based social networking mobile application, TikTok, has been banned in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
- The Madras High Court is also pushing the central government for a pan-India TikTok ban.
- The petition filed against TikTok stated that the app was 'encouraging pornography'.
Advertisement
TikTok, a media app for creating and sharing short videos, seems to be next in line to be banned in India as the Madras High Court is pushing for the government to prohibit downloads of the mobile application. Their order bans TikTok in the state of Tamil Nadu with immediate effect.After several states in India started implementing a ban on the battle royale game, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds for being addictive, TikTok seems to be the next mobile app to be caught in the crosshairs.
The petition to ban TikTok contended that the content on the social network platform “was containing degrading culture and encouraging pornography besides containing explicit disturbing content and causing social stigma and medical health issue between teens.”
The bench, led by Justice N Kirubakaran and Justice SS Sundar, cited inappropriate content, including pornography and accessibility to children as the primary reasons behind the interim order — adding that media outlets should also be prohibited from telecasting videos that are made using TikTok.
“Majority of the teens are playing pranks, gaffing around with duet videos and sharing with split screen to the strangers. The children who use the said application are vulnerable and may expose them to sexual predators.”
The court has also recommended that India could bring about a new legislation around the online privacy of children similar to the Children’s Online Privacy Protect Act in the United States.
Advertisement
By becoming addicted to TikTok App, and similar apps, or cyber games, the future of the youngsters and mindset of the children are spoiled.
Why the fuss around TikTok?
Formerly known as musical.ly, the app was rebranded as TikTok when ByteDance acquired it from $1 billion. And, since its launch in India, users from the country account for 39% of TikTok’s 500 million users.
Brands are also using influencers on the platform like Baby Ariel and Lisa & Lena, for their promotion campaigns since the app primarily targets users in the age group of 16 to 24 years.
In light of the scrutiny around fake news and being called up by the parliamentary committee in preparation of the upcoming general election in India, TikTok appointed Sandhya Sharma as its public policy director. The social media app also has content moderation teams working in over 20 countries.
“We are committed to respecting local laws and regulations, and in order to better coordinate with law enforcement agencies, we are also in the process of hiring a chief nodal officer, based out of India.”
Advertisement
See also:Teens are getting arrested for playing PUBG in India
Facebook follows in TikTok’s footsteps by bringing music to posts and stories
TikTok was bigger than Instagram last year after passing the 1 billion download mark