NEW DELHI • Bytedance Ltd, the world’s most valuable start-up, has been allowed by a court in India to restore access of its popular TikTok video-sharing app to users in one of the Chinese company’s most promising markets.
The Madras High Court in its interim order on Wednesday lifted the ban on the app, which had been blocked by Google and Apple Inc.
TikTok was banned on concerns the app was exposing children to pornography and other disturbing content. The court will come up with a final order after hearing all the parties.
“TikTok will update their privacy protection norms according to the court’s order and will address any complaint over content in three to 36 hours,” said K Neelamegam, a lawyer representing the petitioner. “If TikTok does not meet the conditions set by the court, contempt of court proceedings can be initiated against them.”
The victory for China’s Bytedance, which was valued at US$75 billion (RM310.5 billion) last year, also comes as a relief for other start-ups hoping to cash in on the world’s fastest-growing smartphone market.
It also dispels the perception that India is adopting a draconian oversight on such companies, somewhat similar to what firms face in China.
“The court has taken the right perspective,” said Faisal Kawoosa, founder and chief analyst at Gurugram-based researcher techARC.
Bytedance told the court that the ban denied the right to free speech for millions of app users in India and also caused a loss of about US$600,000 in daily revenue for the company. — Bloomberg
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