Chinese short video creating app TikTok has been taken down by Google and Apple from their respective app stores, following a directive from Supreme Court to stay the ban on the app. In early April, Madras High Court issued the ban on the app following a petition that claimed that the TikTok promotes pornography, suicide and child abuse.
The app is owned by Beijing-based Bytedance Co. In India, TikTok has over 54 million monthly active users and more than 1 billion downloads. The TikTok has faced intense criticism in India from the social activists alleging that app degrades the culture of the Indian society.
The app makers have sought a stay on the ban which has been dismissed by the apex authority. Following the Supreme Court judgement, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) directed Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their respective app stores. The Madras High court has appointed Arvind Datar as an independent counsel, after the stay was cancelled.
‘We welcome the decision of the Madras High Court to appoint Arvind Datar as Amicus Curae (independent counsel) to the court. We have faith in the Indian judicial system and we are optimistic about an outcome that would be well received by over 120 million monthly active users in India, who continue using TikTok to showcase their creativity and capture moments that matter in their everyday lives,’ TikTok said in a statement.
The Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Sanjiv Khanna from the Supreme Court bench has now listed the case for April 22, wherein the apex court will be updated on the developments that take place at the Madras High Court.
The TikTok app can still be used by the users who already have it downloaded on their phones.
