Censorship of TikTok

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Multiple governmental agencies and private business have imposed or attempted impose bans on the social media service TikTok. Countries like India and the United States have expressed concerns about the app’s ownership by the Chinese company, ByteDance, attempting to ban it from app stores. Countries such as Indonesia and Bangladesh have banned it on the basis of pornography-related concerns, while others like Armenia and Azerbaijan have implemented restrictions to mitigate the spread of information which could lead to conflict.

India[]

See also: Internet censorship in India

2019 ban[]

On 3 April 2019, the Madras High Court, while hearing a PIL, asked the Government of India to ban the app, citing that it "encourages pornography" and shows "inappropriate content". The court also noted that children and minors using the app were at risk of being targeted by sexual predators. The court further asked broadcast media not to telecast any of those videos from the app. The spokesperson for TikTok stated that they were abiding by local laws and were awaiting the copy of the court order before they take action.[1] On 17 April, both Google and Apple removed TikTok from Google Play and the App Store.[2] As the court refused to reconsider the ban, the company stated that they had removed over 6 million videos that violated their content policy and guidelines.[3]

On 25 April 2019, the ban was lifted after the Madras High Court reversed its order, following a plea from TikTok developer ByteDance Technology.[4][5] "We are committed to continuously enhancing our safety features as a testament to our ongoing commitment to our users in India,” said TikTok in an official media statement.[6] India's TikTok ban might have cost the app 15 million new users.[7]

2020 ban[]

TikTok, along with 58 other Chinese-created apps,[8] was banned completely in India by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology on 29 June 2020, with a statement saying they were "prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order".[9] The ban was in response to a military clash between Indian and Chinese troops in disputed territory along their shared border between Ladakh and Western China.[10][11] After an earlier skirmish in 2017 between the militaries of the two most populous countries in the world, the Indian military demanded that its troops delete dozens of Chinese applications from their devices over national security concerns. Applications like Weibo, UC Browser, and Shareit are among the apps that were deleted at that time and have now been completely banned.[8]

The Indian government said the decision to ban the apps was "to protect the data and privacy of its 1.3 billion citizens" and to put a stop to technology that was "stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users’ data in unauthorized servers outside India".[11][12] Dev Khare, a partner at the venture firm Lightspeed India said that although India's app ban was a populist "feel-good" step, he did not see it as a bad thing because "it's something that China did a long time ago" and "the rest of the world has the right to do it to China."[12]

United States[]

Executive Order 14034 ("EO 14034"), "Protecting Americans' Sensitive Data from Foreign Adversaries."

Trump Administration[]

Main article: Donald Trump–TikTok controversy

Biden Administration[]

On 9 June 2021, the Biden Administration issued Executive Order 14034, “Protecting Americans’ Sensitive Data from Foreign Adversaries” (“EO 14034”).  EO 14034 overturned three Executive Orders signed by Former President Donald Trump; Executive Order 13942, Executive Order 13943, and Executive Order 13971. Despite these Executive Orders now being revoked, the Biden Administration’s EO 14304 has called upon additional federal agencies to continue a broad review of foreign owned applications which are set to continuously inform the President on the risk that the applications pose to personal data and national security.[13] The White House said in a statement that, “The Biden Administration is committed to promoting an open, interoperable, reliable and secure Internet; protecting human rights online and offline; and supporting a vibrant, global digital economy.”[14]

Other countries[]

Indonesia[]

On 3 July 2018, TikTok was temporarily banned in Indonesia after the Indonesian government accused it of promulgating "pornography, inappropriate content and blasphemy."[15][16][17][18][19] Rudiantra, Indonesia’s Minister of Communications and Information said, “The app has a lot of negative and harmful content, especially for children,” and added that “Once TikTok can give us guarantees they can maintain clean content, it can re-open.”[20] TikTok quickly responded by promising to enlist 20 staff to censor TikTok content in Indonesia,[16] and the ban was lifted 8 days later.[15]

Bangladesh[]

In November 2018, the Bangladeshi government blocked the TikTok app's Internet access as part of Bangladesh’s crackdown on the removal of pornography and gambling sites. “I want to create a safe and secure internet for all Bangladeshis, including children. And this is my war against pornography. And this will be a continuous war,” said Mustafa Jabbar, Posts and Communications Officer of Bangladesh.[21]

In August 2020, the government of Bangladesh requested that TikTok remove 10 videos from the platform that were uploaded from the country.[21] "The TikTok authorities have told the government they will take down “offensive” videos uploaded from Bangladesh," said the Minister of Post and Telecommunication of Bangladesh. As a result, the Bangladeshi government cleared the TikTok ban.

In June 2021, Law and Life Foundation, a human rights organization, issued a legal notice to the Bangladeshi government that sought the prohibition of “dangerous and harmful" applications such as TikTok, PUBG, and Free Fire, but failed to obtain a response. Soon thereafter, Law and Life Foundation’s lawyers filed a petition with the Dhaka High Court, sharing the organization’s concerns. In August 2020, the Dhaka High Court encouraged the Bangladeshi government to prohibit “dangerous and harmful” applications such as TikTok, PUBG, and Free Fire to “save children and adolescents from moral and social degradation.”[22]

Armenia[]

In October 2020, TikTok users in Armenia reported a loss of app functionality, although it has not been confirmed whether this was the result of any intervention by the Armenian government in response to the use of the app by Azerbaijani sources to spread misinformation during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.[23]

Azerbaijan[]

On 27 September 2020, citizens noticed social media restrictions across an array of platforms, including TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and others. NetBlocks confirmed the restrictions on social media and communication platforms through Twitter.[24] According to Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Transport, Communications and Technology, these restriction were issued in attempt to “prevent large-scale provocations from Armenia,” during the longstanding Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.[25]

Pakistan[]

Over the 15 months up to November 2021, The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) imposed and lifted four bans on TikTok.[26]

In October 2020, Pakistan ordered a ban of TikTok over “immoral, obscene, and vulgar”[26] content. The ban was reversed ten days later, after ByteDance stated that they would remove objectionable TikTok content and block users who upload “unlawful content.”[27]

In March 2021, a provincial court, the Peshawar High Court Order responded to a petition made by a resident of a Punjab province.[27] The petition stated that TikTok’s platform was being used to promote crime and glorified the use of drugs and weapons[27] in its short videos and called on the PTA to ban the app once again. According to Sara Ali Khan, legal representative of the Punjab resident, the PTA announced that TikTok had not adequately proven their ability to moderate “immoral” and “indecent” content.[28] Even with the removal of over 6 million videos between January 2021 and March 2021,[27] the PTA remained unsatisfied and banned the app outright. The PTA lifted the ban in April 2021 after TikTok assured them it would “filter and moderate content.”

On 28 June 2021, the Sindh High Court Order urged the PTA to restore the ban on TikTok for the alleged “spreading of immorality and obscenity.”[29] On 30 June 2021, the PTA announced that it had once more blocked citizen’s access to the video-sharing application. Three days later, the court withdrew its decision.[30]

On 20 July 2021, the PTA instituted a ban on TikTok by reason of the “continuous presence of inappropriate content on the platform and its failure to take such content down.”[27] According to a statement by the PTA, “ As a result of continuous engagement, senior management of the platform assured (the) PTA of its commitment to take necessary measure to control unlawful content in accordance with local laws and societal norms.”[31] Consequently, on 19 November 2021, the PTA agreed to act promptly and once again backtrack and eliminate Pakistan’s fourth ban on TikTok. The PTA said in a tweet that they “will continue to monitor the platform in order to ensure that unlawful content contrary to Pakistan’s law and societal values is not disseminated.”[32]

References[]

  1. ^ "'It Encourages Pornography': Madras High Court Asks Government to Ban Video App TikTok". News18. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  2. ^ "Apple, Google Block TikTok in India After Court Order". NDTV. 17 April 2019. Archived from the original on 17 April 2019. Retrieved 17 April 2019.
  3. ^ Chandrashekhar, Anandi (17 April 2019). "TikTok no longer available on Google and Apple stores". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 6 June 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  4. ^ "TikTok ban lifted in India but it has lost at least 2 million users". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  5. ^ "TikTok Ban in India Lifted by Madras High Court". beebom.com. Archived from the original on 5 October 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  6. ^ Mukherjee, Amritanshu (April 25, 2019). "TikTok no longer banned in India says Court, but porn videos not allowed: Everything you must know". India Today. Retrieved 2021-11-25.
  7. ^ "India's TikTok Ban Might Have Cost the App 15 Million New Users". beebom.com. 3 May 2019. Archived from the original on 5 October 2019. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  8. ^ a b Abi-Habib, Maria (2020-06-29). "India Bans Nearly 60 Chinese Apps, Including TikTok and WeChat". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-11-25.
  9. ^ "India bans TikTok and dozens more Chinese apps". BBC News. 29 June 2020. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  10. ^ Doval, Pankaj (30 June 2020). "TikTok, UC Browser among 59 Chinese apps blocked as threat to sovereignty". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 30 June 2020.
  11. ^ a b Ellis-Petersen, Hannah (29 June 2020). "India bans TikTok after Himalayan border clash with Chinese troops". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 29 June 2020.
  12. ^ a b Zhong, Raymond; Schultz, Kai (30 June 2020). "With India's TikTok Ban, the World's Digital Walls Grow Higher". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
  13. ^ Brown, Abram. "Let's Talk About What Biden Just Did With Trump's TikTok Ban". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-11-26.
  14. ^ "Biden reverses Trump's effort to ban TikTok, orders broader review of foreign-owned apps". NBC News. Retrieved 2021-11-26.
  15. ^ a b "Indonesia overturns ban on Chinese video app Tik Tok". The Straits Times. Reuters. 11 July 2018. Archived from the original on 2 March 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  16. ^ a b "Chinese video app Tik Tok to set up Indonesia censor team to..." Reuters. 5 July 2018. Archived from the original on 2 March 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2019 – via uk.reuters.com.
  17. ^ "Indonesia blocks 'pornographic' Tik Tok app". DW.COM. 7 May 2018. Archived from the original on 2 March 2019. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  18. ^ Spence, Philip (16 January 2019). "ByteDance Can't Outrun Beijing's Shadow". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 16 January 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  19. ^ "TikTok parent ByteDance sues Chinese news site that exposed fake news problem". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 22 August 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  20. ^ "Indonesia bans Chinese video app Tik Tok for 'inappropriate content'". Reuters. 2018-07-04. Retrieved 2021-11-25.
  21. ^ a b "5 Countries That Have Banned TikTok - Viebly". viebly.com. Retrieved 2021-11-25.
  22. ^ "Bangladesh court orders ban on TikTok, PUBG, Free Fire to 'save children'". New Straits Times. 2021-08-17. Retrieved 2021-11-25.
  23. ^ "Tik Tok fails operating in Armenia". armenpress.am. Armenpress. 30 September 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  24. ^ "Social media restricted in Azerbaijan amid clashes with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh". NetBlocks. 2020-09-27. Retrieved 2021-11-25.
  25. ^ "Azerbaijan limits internet access to prevent Armenia's large-scale acts of provocation". mincom.gov.az (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 2021-11-25.
  26. ^ a b "TikTok Ban Lifted by Pakistan, Fourth Time in Past 15 Months". NDTV Gadgets 360. Retrieved 2021-11-25.
  27. ^ a b c d e "Pakistan bans TikTok for 4th time, for inappropriate content". Hindustan Times. 2021-07-21. Retrieved 2021-11-25.
  28. ^ Saifi, Sophia. "Pakistan bans TikTok again". KCTV Kansas City. Retrieved 2021-11-25.
  29. ^ "Pakistan lifts ban on TikTok after assurances to control 'immoral & indecent' contents". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2021-11-25.
  30. ^ "SHC reverses ban on TikTok in Pakistan". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2021-11-25.
  31. ^ "Pakistan lifts ban on TikTok after assurances to curb 'immoral, indecent' content". India Today. November 20, 2021. Retrieved 2021-11-25.
  32. ^ "Pakistan restores access to TikTok after four bans". www.theregister.com. Retrieved 2021-11-25.
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