TikTok has been taken down from Google and Apple Application store after the court order. The move came just hours after a court in southern Tamil Nadu state refused a request by China’s Bytedance Technology to suspend a ban on its TikTok app, putting its future in one of its key markets in doubt.
The state court had on April 3 asked the federal government to ban TikTok. Its ruling came after an individual launched public interest litigation calling for a ban. Google said in a statement that it does not comment on individual apps but adheres to local laws whereas Apple did not respond to requests for comment.
While TikTok did not immediately respond, later in the evening, it did post its update regarding its ban in India. It did inform its Indian users that it has temporarily taken down its app from the online app stores since April 17th, 2019.
However, the app also assures that it will not affect the millions of already existing users. Existing users can continue using TikTok with all its funky features and in-app challenges just as they were doing it.
We are currently working hard on ensuring that anyone in India who wants to use TikTok to showcase your creativity can do so freely. – TikTok India
For all TikTok fans, it’s a sigh of relief for those who already have the app in their device and can use it freely as before. But the ones who have not downloaded the app; it’s a temporary effect “due to an interim court order.” Though for how long it’s not known, the app requests its fans to “stay tuned for more updates.”
