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Apple Removes Video Sharing App TikTok From Indian App Store to Comply With State Demand

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Apple has removed TikTok from its App Store in India to comply with a government demand to block downloads of the video sharing app over child safety concerns.

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TikTok, developed by China-based Bytedance Technology, lets users create and share short-form videos enhanced with digital effects, a formula that has proved a huge hit in India. The app has been downloaded more than 240 million times in the country, according to a report from app analytics firm Sensor Tower in February.

However, on April 3 a court in southern Tamil Nadu state asked the federal Indian government to ban the app on grounds that it encouraged pornography, and warned that sexual predators could target child users. Citing an IT ministry official, Reuters reports that the federal government sent a letter to Apple and Google requesting that the companies abide by the state court's order by pulling TikTok from their respective app stores.

As of this morning, the title is no longer available for download on either platform in the country. In a statement, Google didn't mention the app by name but said it complied with all local state laws. Apple has yet to comment.

Last week, Bytedance challenged the ban order in India's Supreme Court, arguing that it went against freedom of speech rights in India, but when the case was referred back to the state court a judge rejected the request to put the ban order on hold. Bytedance has been asked to give written submissions in the case, which is scheduled to have its next hearing on April 24.

This isn't the first time a country has taken action against TikTok. In February, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission fined the app's developers $5.7 million to settle allegations of child privacy law violations, after TikTok was accused of collecting personal data from users under the age of 13 without seeking parental consent.

Article Link: Apple Removes Video Sharing App TikTok From Indian App Store to Comply With State Demand
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2019/04/17/apple-removes-tiktok-from-indian-app-store/
Well done India, Apple and Google. Such apps are not channelling creativity in right direction anyway. These app companies must hold moral responsibility and not try to hide under Freedom of expression.
 
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Reactions: Ramchi
If it was so bad, why ban only now? And why only in India? Does that means, that Apple are ok with allowing app on their platform, that might be used by child sex predators to stalk kids in other countries ?
I thought Apple was family friendly company *insert shocked face* . Oh guys those double standards, those double standards...
 
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Reactions: augustrushrox
Biu_miu said:
If it was so bad, why ban only now? And why only in India? Does that means, that Apple are ok with allowing app on their platform, that might be used by child sex predators to stalk kids in other countries ?
I thought Apple was family friendly company *insert shocked face* . Oh guys those double standards, those double standards...
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Apple, and Google you mean, right? Talk about double standards!
 
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Reactions: riteshritesh
I don't even know what Tiktok is but banning a social media app "for the children" is a horrible idea.

Parents should keep track of what their kids do online, and, you know, parent.

The rest of us who use an app shouldn't have to suffer because of bad parenting. What's next, YouTube? Plenty of disturbing stuff there too!

It seems authoritarianism is starting to grow in the world, with governments doing more and more to regulate your life. This is a dangerous slope.
 
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Reactions: AdeFowler, akash.nu, alvindarkness and 8 others
I will challenge that this has the *potential* to set a dangerous precedent. EVERY app *could* be used for nefarious purposes. Most probably HAVE. This includes email, messaging, file sharing, websites, etc. When we start banning an app because it MIGHT be used in a particular way, or even if a small number of people DID, we end up blocking apps that are also used used for good. What happens if/when 'think of the children' comes after those other apps?

Note: Yes, I care about the children and want them protected. I just see the first layer of protection as belonging to the parents. I suggest that Apple, Google, etc. having better parental controls is a more effective solution than individually blocking apps.
 
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Reactions: hxlover904, decypher44 and H3LL5P4WN
Biu_miu said:
If it was so bad, why ban only now? And why only in India? Does that means, that Apple are ok with allowing app on their platform, that might be used by child sex predators to stalk kids in other countries ?
I thought Apple was family friendly company *insert shocked face* . Oh guys those double standards, those double standards...
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Since you don't get it, I'll explain it for you

India, the overcrowded and polluted country it is, found that some app can be used to facilitate crimes against children, so they fired the courts up and requested it be removed

Apple, the law abiding company they are, simply followed the order and removed it

Which means a couple things: first, it's India's opinion that the app is harmful; second, Apple hasn't done their own investigation

How about next time actually look into what you're reading and how stuff works, then come post your misguided opinion on the internet. Thanks!
 
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Reactions: akash.nu and martyjmclean
zorinlynx said:
I don't even know what Tiktok is but banning a social media app "for the children" is a horrible idea.

Parents should keep track of what their kids do online, and, you know, parent.

The rest of us who use an app shouldn't have to suffer because of bad parenting. What's next, YouTube? Plenty of disturbing stuff there too!

It seems authoritarianism is starting to grow in the world, with governments doing more and more to regulate your life. This is a dangerous slope.
Click to expand...
It's a lot more tricky to raise kids than it used to be. Years ago I tried to keep my step-son off YouTube, and he kept finding workaround after workaround. It was like an arms race. I wouldn't want YouTube banned, but they need to get their stuff in order. Big time.

Governments have always come down heavy on predatory products aimed at children, though. Right now Juul is under heavy regulatory pressure because by all appearances they've been aiming their nicotine vaping products at tweens. Then, years ago, they banned all fast food advertising aimed at kids, if you remember.
 
JRobinsonJr said:
I will challenge that this has the *potential* to set a dangerous precedent. EVERY app *could* be used for nefarious purposes. Most probably HAVE. This includes email, messaging, file sharing, websites, etc. When we start banning an app because it MIGHT be used in a particular way, or even if a small number of people DID, we end up blocking apps that are also used used for good. What happens if/when 'think of the children' comes after those other apps?

Note: Yes, I care about the children and want them protected. I just see the first layer of protection as belonging to the parents. I suggest that Apple, Google, etc. having better parental controls is a more effective solution than individually blocking apps.
Click to expand...
For the past 20 years or so, the definition of a parent has changed to simply: "Person who feeds and cares for a child's basic needs."

Education and guidance has been delegated to third parties.
 
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Reactions: akash.nu, riteshritesh, RichardGroves and 2 others
AdeFowler said:
How does this app vary from Apple's own Clips app, and the multitude of similar video creation tools?
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It's politics. It doesn't have to make sense. I mean if the reason is pornography, might as well ban the internet.

It's typical for government from emerging countries to have knee jerk reaction to things, especially when it is related to morality/religion. The typical flow is, someone complains about a new hip thing on the internet and use pornography as the reason, and then the current administration will react by banning it since they don't want to be seen by their voters as having "lower" moral standard. Meanwhile, in the real life with real problem, 11% of the world's teen pregnancy happened in India. But banning an app is easier than doing something more concrete.
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H3LL5P4WN said:
Oh no, it's all good. Think like Vine, except Vine actually had some very talented creators on it. TikTok is just a bunch of bozos, from what I've been able to gather.
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Actually, the ones from China (the originator), S. Korea and Japan are full of really creative stuff. Even their artists are on the platform.
 
Biu_miu said:
If it was so bad, why ban only now? And why only in India? Does that means, that Apple are ok with allowing app on their platform, that might be used by child sex predators to stalk kids in other countries ?
Click to expand...
Apple didn't ban it. India banned it. Apple complied with the laws of India. Many social apps can be used for good or bad purposes. Can't pull them all "just in case" (otherwise wave bye to Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, WhatsApp, etc. - and yes, I'm not a big fan of Facebook). The built-in camera app could be used to take pictures of illegal activities, would you have Apple remove it based on how it "might be used"? Do you infer from the camera app remaining in iOS that "Apple are okay with allowing app on their platform" that might be used for something bad? Or is the problem the person who is actually doing the bad thing, rather than the company providing the tool?

(I know nothing of TikTok and whether or not they may be promoting, or at least turning a knowing blind eye towards, bad behavior. Can't say one way or the other.)
 
If you think TikTok is cancer for the kids, just look at the smoggy air!
 
SoN1NjA said:
If you think TikTok is cancer for the kids, just look at the smoggy air!
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In India? When that smog comes from China, we will take care of it. The majority of them have been born and brought up in the smog, pollution and overpopulation and get along with it.
The Government tries to get rid of imported nuisances as it doesn't want an additional burden over the domestic ***** already happening.:D
 
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