New Delhi: With the Supreme Court refusing to stay the Madras High Court order early this month to ban social media platform TikTok for encouraging pornography, the Ministry Of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) has directed Google and Apple to cast off the social media app from their respective app stores in a bid to save you similarly downloads. Following the Madras High Court’s order, TikTok had reached out to the Supreme Court for a life on the order; however, the enchantment was rejected on 15 April because that the problem changed into subjudice. TikTok and its Lite version, recently released for customers with access stage Android phones in India, are not listed on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. However, the apps can still be downloaded from internet-based 0.33-birthday celebration app shops like Apk Mirror and Apkpure.
A TikTok spokesperson clarified that this isn’t a permanent ban and could now not affect existing customers. “We welcome the choice of the Madras High Court to employ Arvind Datar as Amicus Curiae (impartial suggest) to the court. We trust in the Indian judicial device and are positive about an outcome,” the spokesperson said.
Launched in India in 2018, TikTok has 120 million lively users, mainly children in small metropolises and cities. It is largely used to seize and proportion moments through short pictures embellished with amusing stickers and filters. However, the furor over TikTok emerged because it has been accused of encouraging pornography.
A few social media networks like the microblogging platform Twitter also bring quick pornographic video clips, and pix put out for advertising by publishers and performers without facing backlash from the authorities. Some specialists feel the ban is extra justified due to the nature of the audience. “The selection to ban TikTok makes sense because it has a far more youthful target market which incorporates youngsters who are still in faculty, unlike Twitter, which has a more mature target audience,” says Shradha Agarwal, COO of Grapes Digital. However, banning TikTok might not put it in the back of the reach of children, feels Pavan Duggal, the main cyberlaw expert.
He says, “Banning the app is absolutely out of sync with contemporary times. Even if the app is banned, humans can download it from different assets or by converting their place. We do not know the bigger task of how to address the paradigm. The problem isn’t always with the app but with 0.33-celebration content material. Strict action must be taken against people publishing such content instead of requesting a blanket ban on apps.” Also, in the absence of the app valid and depending on sources, users may additionally flip to internet-based total 0.33-celebration shops, which may be more dangerous as they do now not verify apps for hidden malicious content material as Google and Apple do.
