TikTok has grown to be one of the most widely used social media apps. The app is extremely popular in the South Asian region and has almost secured a user base of 800 million active users throughout the world. Out of all the users in the world, 43% of its users are from India
Despite being greatly loved by Indian audience, there was recently the news of a TikTok ban in India
This move came as part of the Indian Government’s retaliation to recent tensions with China. Because TikTok is a Chinese company, it – along with 58 other apps – was recently banned in India.
The Indian Government has also mentioned that the app is considered to be a threat to the security of the state and public order. They have claimed that complaints from several sources have revealed that the apps were stealing and covertly transmitting the data of their users.
This led to TikTok issuing a statement that they don’t share any data about India with Chinese authorities
However, the Indian Ministry of Information and Technology claimed that data transfer in an unauthorized manner is a threat to Indian sovereignty and indeed was a matter of great concern that needed to be addressed immediately.
As soon as the ban was announced, social media platforms were flooded with memes about the whole TikTok ban
Indians have appreciated their Government’s step and have mentioned that the app has degraded their values and culture
Indians have also stated that it’s a good opportunity for India to develop an app of their own which has the same functionality as TikTok
A few have also expressed their displeasure with China saying that the country can’t continue to strengthen its economy by using the Indian audience while implementing its aggressive policies on the common border
They have also stated that this step is a result of China’s expansionist policies and they believe that it will severely affect the Chinese economy.
A lot of people are also finding it very funny that the reaction of the Modi Government to the actions of Chinese authorities at the Ladakh border is to ban TikTok
Omg, India took revenge of 20 soldiers by putting ban on tiktok 😆
He is such a joker 😂
pic.twitter.com/jb6aDakDUa— Yousaf Baloch🇵🇰 (@khans7yousaf) June 30, 2020
India gives a fitting response to China. Bans TikTok 🤐
— Rana Ayyub (@RanaAyyub) June 30, 2020
People are finding it funny that despite banning the app Indian Government has an official account on TikTok
If the Govt of India had 'raging concerns … relating to data security' on #TikTok – why didn't they tell the Govt of India pic.twitter.com/zEpnT4tTCN
— Raghu Karnad (@rkarnad) June 30, 2020
It’s not even the first time that the app has been banned in India. Previously in April 2019, It was banned on the grounds of making pornographic content accessible to Indian youth and for negatively impacting the mental health of its users.
So, what do you think? Is this TikTok ban valid or just another lame attempt by Indian Government?