Weeks after banning it, TikTok ban in India has been lifted by Madras High Court. The relief comes after both Google and Apple have blocked the app on their app marketplaces as per earlier court order. The Madras High Court had ordered the ban on the immensely popular app as it heeded the litigations underscoring rampant pornographic content. ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, made an appeal to the court to stay the ban but was denied.
After it was rebranded from musical.ly to TikTok, the app saw a surge in usage across different countries. India has one of the biggest user bases for TikTok country wise. According to ByteDance, there were over 120 million users on TikTok in India. With the ballooning user base, TikTok fell victim to the menace of misinformation and porn.
Madras High Court was asked by the Supreme Court to hear the ban imposed on TikTok by Wednesday, April 24. The rap by the apex court was based on the plea, given by advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi on behalf of ByteDance, that said the interim ban was placed without granting the company a hearing. SC also said that if Madras HC fails to conduct a hearing by April 24, the ban will be vacated.
Earlier this week, ByteDance said that the ban has affected the business of the app, so much so that it is losing Rs 4.5 crore in revenues per day. The TikTok owner also said there are jobs at stake with the ban and the circumstances may become dire if the ban is upheld.
The ban ordered by Madras HC included the removal of app listing from Google Play store and Apple’s App Store in the country. However, the app was available to download from third-party websites. It was also stated that the existing users of TikTok will not be affected by the ban.
