Google, Apple blocks TikTok in India after court order

After an order by the Madras High Court on April 3 asking the federal government to ban TikTok, Google and Apple have removed the Chinese internet firm Bytedance’s social media app TikTok from the Play Store and App Store following directions of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to do so.

This popular app mostly used by teengers for creation and sharing of short videos was available on application stores of both Google and Apple until Tuesday evening, but it is no longer available for downloads on both platforms. Google in a statement said, it does not comment on individual apps but adheres to local laws. Apple did not respond to requests for comment, while TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Google’s move.

TikTok is an app which allows users to create and share short videos with special effects, and it has become hugely popular in India but it has been criticized for encouraging pornography and made child users vulnerable to sexual predators. It had been downloaded more than 240 million times in India. Jokes, clips and footage related to India’s thriving movie industry dominate the app’s platform, along with memes and videos in which youngsters, some scantily clad, lip-sync and dance to popular music.

The Madras High Court on Tuesday had refused to stay the ban on the app and appointed an independent counsel to the case.  Earlier in the week the Supreme Court's had also refused to stay the interim ban on the app's downloads.  The state court has requested written submissions from Bytedance in the case and has scheduled its next hearing for April 24. 

TikTok earlier said in a statement that it had faith in the Indian judicial system and was optimistic about an outcome that would be well received by millions of its users.