Madras High Court Vacates Its Earlier Order, Lifts Ban on Further Download of Video App TikTok
Earlier this month, the High Court had directed the government to ban the Chinese video app on the ground that it was 'encouraging pornography'.
Earlier this month, the High Court had directed the government to ban the Chinese video app on the ground that it was 'encouraging pornography'.
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New Delhi: The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday lifted its earlier ban on the use of popular mobile application TikTok, subject to certain conditions.
Earlier this month, the High Court had directed the government to ban the Chinese video app on the ground that it was "encouraging pornography". TikTok was blocked on the App Store and Play Store since April 18.
The direction came two days after the Supreme Court asked the high court to decide the matter regarding the ban by April 24. The apex court had said that the stay against downloading the application would be vacated if the high court was unable to decide by the given date.
Deciding the case filed by advocate Muthukumar, the bench vacated its interim order banning the app, subject to conditions that pornographic videos will not be uploaded on it, failing with the contempt of court proceedings would begin.
During the hearing on Wednesday, amicus curiae Arvind Datar observed there cannot be "a system where something which is statutorily permissible becomes judicially impermissible".
"Banning is not the solution," he told the bench. "Rights of legitimate users must be protected."
Created by Beijing Bytedance Technology Co, TikTok allows users to create and share short videos with special effects. It has become hugely popular in rural India, home to most of the country’s 1.3 billion people.
Jokes, clips and footage related to India's thriving movie industry dominate the platform, along with memes and videos in which youngsters, some scantily clad, lip-sync and dance to popular music. M Manikandan, IT minister of Tamil Nadu, had in February described some of its more suggestive dance content as "unbearable", while a rightwing group close to the BJP has called for the app to be banned.
The Madras High Court, which had been hearing a public interest litigation against the app, had earlier said that children who were using TikTok were vulnerable to exposure to sexual predators.
Earlier this month, the High Court had directed the government to ban the Chinese video app on the ground that it was "encouraging pornography". TikTok was blocked on the App Store and Play Store since April 18.
The direction came two days after the Supreme Court asked the high court to decide the matter regarding the ban by April 24. The apex court had said that the stay against downloading the application would be vacated if the high court was unable to decide by the given date.
Deciding the case filed by advocate Muthukumar, the bench vacated its interim order banning the app, subject to conditions that pornographic videos will not be uploaded on it, failing with the contempt of court proceedings would begin.
During the hearing on Wednesday, amicus curiae Arvind Datar observed there cannot be "a system where something which is statutorily permissible becomes judicially impermissible".
"Banning is not the solution," he told the bench. "Rights of legitimate users must be protected."
Created by Beijing Bytedance Technology Co, TikTok allows users to create and share short videos with special effects. It has become hugely popular in rural India, home to most of the country’s 1.3 billion people.
Jokes, clips and footage related to India's thriving movie industry dominate the platform, along with memes and videos in which youngsters, some scantily clad, lip-sync and dance to popular music. M Manikandan, IT minister of Tamil Nadu, had in February described some of its more suggestive dance content as "unbearable", while a rightwing group close to the BJP has called for the app to be banned.
The Madras High Court, which had been hearing a public interest litigation against the app, had earlier said that children who were using TikTok were vulnerable to exposure to sexual predators.