Should TikTok Be Banned in India ? Why TikTok Rating Is Going Down? #TikTok
Channel: MentorTalk
Date: 2020-05-22

Should TikTok Be Banned? Why TikTok Rating Is Going Down? #TikTok

There is a massive debate going on in India at this time regarding banning TikTok a video-sharing social networking service App owned by ByteDance, a Chinese company founded in 2012 by Zhang Yiming. Just a few days back, one Indian TikToker’s account was removed as he had posted an obnoxious and callous video showing him throwing a liquid (implying an acid) on a girl’s face who rebuffed his advances. Then there was another disgusting and insane video posted by someone in a way encouraging rape. It displayed that TikToker and his friend, zipping up their wash pants as the girl on the side screen weeps and amends her clothes.
Hemant Batra, Hemant K Batra, Mentor Talk, #HemantBatra, #MentorTalk


Tik Tok was developed to create short dance, lip-sync, comedy and talent videos. TikTok was launched in markets outside of China in 2017. The app is very popular in Asia, the United States, and other parts of the world.

TikTok became the most downloaded app in the US in 2018, the first Chinese app to achieve this. As of 2018, it was available in over 150 markets and in 75 languages. In February 2019, TikTok hit one billion downloads globally along with its sister app known by some other name in China. Indians alone spent 5.5 billion hours using Tik Tok in 2019 as per analytics shared in a section of media.

Today, many people are seeking ban on Tik Tok in India due to these nasty and horrible videos glorifying illegal acts. Tik Tok has simply responded by stating that “TikTok is a platform that celebrates creativity & expression. They aim to create a positive in-app environment that brings people and communities together and request all their users to respect this intent.”

Last year, the Madras High Court while hearing a PIL had asked the Government of India to ban the app, citing that it "encourages pornography". The court also noted that children using the app were at risk of being targeted by sexual predators. Pursuant thereto both Google and Apple removed TikTok from Google Play and the App Store. As the court refused to reconsider the ban, the company stated that they had removed over 6 million videos that violated their content policy and guidelines. 

Subsequently, the ban got to be lifted. Tik Tok came back in action. Even Indonesia had temporarily blocked the TikTok app in 2018 amid public concern about illegal content such as pornography and blasphemy. The app was unblocked later as those videos were removed.

Legally speaking Sections 67 and 67A of the Information Technology Act categorically provides for the imprisonment for a term ranging between 3 to 7 years for anybody who publishes or transmits or causes to be published or transmitted in the electronic form any material which is lascivious (meaning obnoxious, horrible, dirty, indecent) or any material which appeals to the prurient interest (lecherous or dissolute person) or contains sexually explicit act or conduct. Further Section 69A of the Information Technology Act enables Government to block any such Apps. Strictly speaking these provisions are enough to prosecute those Tik Tokers and even the Tik Tok owner company i.e. Bytedance (India) Technology Private Limited. There are other penal provisions under the Indian Penal Code, which can also be invoked.

But, I think in the long run banning Tik Tok is not a viable option legally but the best option would be to direct them to have diligent and stringent community and monitoring guidelines like Facebook and Twitter have it. They should have proactive helplines and user complaints forums to address these serious issues of objectionable videos.

I am sure better sense will prevail and #TikTokers will also be more responsible and decent and sensitive while posting videos.
#tiktok # #tiktokban #tiktokbaninindia #tiktokvsyoutube #youtubevstiktok