Google Pulls TikTok From Play Store in India Following Court Order

Google has pulled popular video app TikTok from the Play Store in India following a local court's direction, stoking fear among some activists that this could set a dangerous precedent. From a report: TikTok, which has amassed over 120 million monthly active users in India, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. TikTok, operated by Chinese conglomerate Bytedance, has come under hot water in India in recent weeks after some users complained about inappropriate content, including pornography, on the video service. A high court in Southern state of Tamil Nadu urged the central government to ban the download of TikTok in India earlier this month, alleging that TikTok "encouraged pornography" and risked spoiling the "future of the youngsters and mindset of the children." Bytedance challenged the state court's order in India's apex Supreme Court last week, asserting that such a move would undermine freedom of speech in the nation. The Supreme Court referred the case back to the state court on Tuesday, thereby rejecting Bytedance's appeal to call off the ban. The government sent a notice to Google and Apple earlier today to pull the app from their respective app stores, preventing any more downloads, as first reported by The Economic Times. Google's Android mobile operating system runs on more than 95% of smartphones in India, according to estimates from research firm Counterpoint. Notably, users who already have TikTok app installed on their Android smartphone can continue to use the service.Read more of this story at Slashdot.
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