Indian government asks Apple and Google to take down TikTok app

“Google and Apple have been asked by the government to take down popular Chinese short-video mobile application TikTok from their app stores, two people familiar with the matter said,” Megha Mandavia reports for The Economic Times.
“The move, by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), comes after the Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay an earlier order by the Madras High Court to ban the app. A bench, headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, posted the matter for hearing to April 22, as the Madras High Court is expected to hear the case on April 16. MeitY’s order will help stop further downloads of the application, but people who have already downloaded it will be able to continue using it,” Mandavia reports. “‘The High Court asked the government to prohibit download of TikTok application. It (MeitY) is ensuring that by asking Google and Apple to delete it from the app stores. Now it is up to the companies to do it or appeal the order,’ said one of the people.”
“Last week, the company said it had removed over 6 million videos that violated its terms of use and community guidelines, following an exhaustive review of content generated by its users in India,” Mandavia reports. “ByteDance’s applications TikTok and Helo are hugely popular among India’s teen and pre-teen population, especially in smaller towns. Many Chinese apps, including TikTok, have come under fire not only in India but also in the US, the UK, Hong Kong and Indonesia for content that is often dangerous.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Obviously, another application will simply take its place and the responsibility for childrens’ welfare ultimately rests with the parents (who should use the parental controls available to them), not blunt-force, ineffectual, consistently-behind, often-confused government.