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TikTok Banned By Indian Court Because It ‘Encourages Pornography’

The Madras High Court has asked the Indian government to ban popular Chinese video app TikTok saying it “encourages pornography.”

The court has already ordered a ban with immediate effect in the state of Tamil Nadu. It is also pushing the Centre to prohibit the downloads of the mobile app because “the future of the youngsters and mindset of the children are spoiled” through TikTok.

The petition to ban TikTok argued that the nature of the content on the video platform contained “degrading culture” along with pornographic and explicit disturbing content.

TikTok has also been accused of causing social stigma and medical health issues among teens by promoting wrong ideas. Back in February, the IT minister of Tamil Nadu described some of the dance content on TikTok as “unbearable.”

Justice N Kirubakaran and Justice SS Sundar, who led the ruling bench, further added that media outlets should not broadcast videos that have been made using TikTok.

Meanwhile, the court suggested that India should also introduce new laws around online privacy of children on the lines of  Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act that was passed in the United States.

TikTok isn’t the first app in the country to face a ban. The popular battle royale game, PUBG, is also facing a similar situation in India because several teenagers are addicted to this game and it is affecting their studies.

The game also led to crimearrests and even death in some cases. PUBG has already been banned in several parts of Gujarat, but recently, the authorities lifted the ban in Ahmedabad. The fate of PUBG in other cities is yet to be seen.

Do you think such bans on apps are justified? Who is more responsible for the content on TikTok — the users or the app makers?

Drop your thoughts in the comment section below.

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