Chennai | Madras High Court has directed the Centre to ban the Chinese social media app TikTok, saying it “encouraged pornography”.
The court has also included in the order that media channels should be banned from broadcasting the videos made in the app.
TikTok, an app that allows users to create and share short videos with special effects, has over 54 million monthly active users in India.
The court, which has been hearing petitions against the app said that the children who used it were exposed and vulnerable to various sexual predators.
“At TikTok, we are committed to abiding by local laws and regulations. We fully comply with the Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules, 2011. We are currently awaiting the official order by the Honourable High Court of Madras and once received, we will review and take appropriate action regarding this matter,” said TikTok in a statement.
“Maintaining a safe and positive in-app environment at TikTok is our priority. We have robust measures to protect users against misuse”.
The court said that a vast portion of the app has inappropriate content, which gave children a gateway to contacting the strangers on a daily basis.
TikTok app has previously also been accused of “cultural degradation”.
TikTok was one of the internet companies that enforced with their own Model Code of Conduct before the Lok Sabha elections this month.
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