TikTok Ban Still Remains in India Amid Comeback Rumors

Photo:TikTok

Following reports of users allegedly having access to TikTok's website homepage in India, sources from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology confirmed that the ban on the Chinese app remains in place.

Prior to this confirmation by the ministry, a few users had reportedly claimed they were able to access the website owned by ByteDance in India, although the TikTok app itself continued to remain unavailable on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

"The Government of India has not issued any unblocking order for TikTok. Any such statement/news is false and misleading," government sources said.

Key Highlighters

• TikTok ban in India remains active despite access rumors.
• No official order issued to unblock TikTok, confirms IT Ministry.
• TikTok, along with 58 Chinese apps, banned over data security concerns.

In June 2020, the central government took the decision to ban 59 mobile applications, the majority of which were Chinese, including TikTok, UC Browser and WeChat, on the grounds that they were ‘prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order’

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The action took place against the backdrop of increasing border tensions between India and China. Relations between Beijing and New Delhi had plummeted to a nadir during the 2020 Galwan Valley clashes in eastern Ladakh. At that time, Union home minister Amit Shah supported the recommendation to ban the apps and signed off on that recommendation made by then Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla, before the order was formally issued by the IT ministry - in accordance with established protocols.

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“All these apps have been reported to have been leaking data. Their malpractices have also been singled out by experts. They have been said to take location data, transfer files to servers in China. Moreover, the beauty apps, such as beauty plus and selfie camera have also been reported for being a threat as they contain pornographic content,” an IT ministry official had said.