Indian State Court Ordered To Ban TikTok, Saying It "Encourage Pornography".
The Madras High court ordered to Ban Chinese Video App TikTok.
TikTok is a media app for creating and sharing short videos. It is most famous app in India.
The Tamil Nadu High Court, which has been hearing a public interest litigation against the app, on Wednesday said children who were using TikTok were vulnerable to exposure to sexual predators.
“Inappropriate” content was TikTok’s “dangerous aspect”, the court said in an order seen by Reuters, adding that “there is a possibility of the children contacting strangers directly”.
“Maintaining a safe and positive in-app environment ... is our priority,” he said.
According to Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) statement,
The Hon’ble High Court of Madras has passed three harsh directions which merit to be contested.
The first direction prohibits the download of the application, the second prohibits the television telecast of videos created through it and the third directs a response from the Union Government on it’s position to legislate a statute analogous to the Children Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
The court also remarked that after the heinous Blue Whale Challenge – which turned out to be a hoax – the government should’ve been more proactive in such cases:
According to Bar and Bench, Indian legal news,
Even after that [the Blue Whale Challenge], the officials have not learned that they should be alert with regard to these type of problems. Only when the officials and policymakers are alive to the problems of society, the decision could be taken to prevent this kind of cyber applications.
In response theTikTok said,
At TikTok, we are committed to abiding by local laws and regulations. We fully comply with the Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules, 2011. We are currently awaiting the official order by the Honourable High Court of Madras and once received, we will review and take appropriate action regarding this matter. Maintaining a safe and positive in-app environment at TikTok is our priority. We have robust measures to protect users against misuse, protect their privacy and digital wellbeing.
TikTok's not only app for facing Bans. The Popular online Game "Player Unknown Battlegrounds" (PUBG) is also facing the ban in some Indian states.