tech2 News Staff At the 22 April hearing, Supreme Court ordered the Madras High Court to pass an interim order on the TikTok ban in India. The court also said that if the High Court fails to decide on the interim relief by on 24 April, the order will stand vacated — meaning, if the order isn't passed today by the High Court, the ban on TikTok app will be overturned. (LIVE: TikTok Madras HC hearing - TikTok to use machine moderation to prevent obscene content upload) On 3 April, Madras High Court directed center to ban the download of the TikTok app in India owing to its ‘pornographic’ and ‘sleazy’ content, which it says is polluting the younger audience. It’s also been alleged, in several countries no less, that the app is proving to be a fertile hunting ground for paedophiles. Following the government order, TikTok has been blocked on the App Store and Play Store since 18 April. Meanwhile, a recent report revealed that TikTok owner ByteDance has been bleeding money to the tune of a whopping Rs 4.5 crore every day since the ban was imposed. The news of ByteDance's losses also arrives a day after we heard plans from the company to pump in $1 billion in the country over the next three years. ByteDance — touted to be among the world’s most valuable startups with investors like SoftBank, General Atlantic, KKR and Sequoia on board — also offers platforms like Helo and Vigo Video in India.<doc-sep>Key Highlights The Madurai bench of the Madras high court on Wednesday issued an interim direction to the central government to prohibit downloading of TikTok mobile app A division bench of Justice N Kirubakaran and Justice S S Sundar also issued directions prohibiting media from telecasting videos made with TikTok MADURAI: The Madurai bench of the Madras high court on Wednesday issued an interim direction to the central government to prohibit downloading of TikTok mobile app. The court observed that pornography and inappropriate contents are made available through mobile applications like TikTok. A division bench of Justice N Kirubakaran and Justice S S Sundar also issued directions prohibiting media from telecasting videos made with TikTok. “The government has to answer whether union of India will enact a statute, like the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, enacted by the United states of America to prevent children from becoming cyber victims,” the court said. The court directions were in response to a petition which sought a ban on the app stating that it encouraged disturbing content and degrades culture. In February, Tamil Nadu information technology minister M Manikandan said the state would write to the Centre to push for banning the app, an opinion endorsed by alliance partner Dr S Ramadoss of the PMK.<doc-sep>tech2 News Staff Update: TikTok has given a statement after the verdict “We are glad about this decision and we believe it is also greatly welcomed by our thriving community in India, who use TikTok as a platform to showcase their creativity. We are grateful for the opportunity to continue serving our users better. While we’re pleased that our efforts to fight against misuse of the platform has been recognised, the work is never “done” on our end. We are committed to continuously enhancing our safety features as a testament to our ongoing commitment to our users in India.” The ban on the popular video-sharing app, TikTok, which had been imposed by the Madras HC on 3 April and implemented on 18 April, has been reportedly lifted after hearing submissions made by TikTok, Amicus Curiae, and Senior Advocate Arvind Datar. In his statement, Arvind Datar says that the Indian government "cannot have a system where something which is statutorily permissible becomes judicially impermissible". He ended on a very important note as well by saying that"Banning is not the solution. Rights of legitimate users must be protected." What led to Madras High Court lifting the ban on @tiktok_us in India? @ankitv summarises the court proceedings from today. #tiktokban #tiktokindia pic.twitter.com/gw1yekP5VO — Tech2 (@tech2eets) April 24, 2019 Datar also explained about the Section 79 of IT Act: Liability of intermediaries under the IT Act, 2000 which says that intermediaries, in this case, TikTok, cannot be held liable in certain cases. For instance, Facebook cannot be held responsible if its users put up something illegal as their status message. TikTok submits - machine moderation will not allow uploading of videos with obscene/nude contents. #TikTokban #tiktokbanindia @tiktok_us — Bar & Bench (@barandbench) April 24, 2019 Cyberlaw expert Asheeta Regidi had said that the existing laws on intermediary liability, in general, are well-known, where Section 79 protects intermediaries like social media companies, e-commerce sites, etc. from liability for any content they host. Arvind Datar Explains the history of s. 79 if IT Act. Guiding principle was Article 12 of the EU Directive on e-commerce issued on June 8, 2000. — Bar & Bench (@barandbench) April 24, 2019 A petitioner in the case also gave the proposition that the Court ban ought to continue owing to the threats posed by China to India since Tiktok is a Chinese app. However, the bench's main concern regarding the Tiktok app ban was securing the privacy of children. One of the petitioner highlights the need to ban Chinese apps. Owing threat to India. #TikTokban — Bar & Bench (@barandbench) April 24, 2019 The Bench remarked that India does not have a legislation such as ​COPPA to protect children in cyberspace. COPPA or the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) is a US law created to protect the privacy of children under 13. This Act was passed in the US Congress in 1998 and came into effect in April 2000. COPPA is managed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Why has Madras High Court ordered a ban on download of @TikTokIndia app? Is it fair? What is #TikTok doing about it? @Nandiniwhy has all these answers. @tiktok_us pic.twitter.com/DXsivMTKjx — Tech2 (@tech2eets) April 4, 2019 Failing to comply with the strict COPPA Act in the US, TikTok was fined $5.7 million which is a record when it comes to fines involving children's data privacy. TikTok was found to be hosting content posted by children under 13 and was asked to take it down. (Also Read - TikTok: A timeline of events that led to the app's ban in India) TikTok had a record 41.7 mn app downloads in Q1 2019 and has 119.3 million active users in India before a ban was placed removing the app from Play Store and Apple App Store.<doc-sep>MADURAI: The Madurai bench of the Madras high court on Tuesday refused to set aside or modify its previous interim order directing the central government to prohibit downloading of the TikTok app, after observing that inappropriate contents are being made available through the app.The court also appointed senior counsel Arvind P Datar as the amicus curiae to assist it in the matter.On Tuesday, the counsel appearing for the Chinese company that owns the app told the court that the app has in place artificial intelligence software that detects when there is over 50%-60% of skin show and filters such content.It was also submitted that they have been stepping up efforts to take down objectionable content and have so far removed 60 lakh videos from Indian users that violated community guidelines.The court, however, was unimpressed with the submissions made and directed the company to file a counter affidavit and also impleaded the ministry of electronics and information technology and the ministry of information and broadcasting to respond to the petition.The matter has been adjourned to April 24.<doc-sep>
Find latest and upcoming tech gadgets online on Tech2 Gadgets. Get technology news, gadgets reviews & ratings. Popular gadgets including laptop, tablet and mobile specifications, features, prices, comparison. Update: Bench of Justices N Kirubakaran and SS Sundar has vacated the interim order by the Supreme Court of India (SC), on 22 April, to ban of TikTok in the country. Amicus Arvind Datar is explaining the importance of intermediaries under Section 79 of the IT Act. Online speech and social media covered under Article 19(1)(a) of the Freedom of Speech and Expression reiterates Datar. The TikTok hearing has begun in the Madurai Bench of the Madras HC. Senior advocate Isaac Mohanlal will be representing TikTok. It has filed a counter affidavit to explain the measures it has taken and the in-built security on the platform The Bench has remarked that India does not have any legislation to protect children in cyberspace like the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) in the US. TikTok, the social media app owned by Chinese company ByteDance, will have its fate decided in India today. The Madras High Court (HC) was ordered by the Supreme Court of India (SC), on 22 April, to pass an interim order on the ban of TikTok in the country. The Madras HC's Madurai Bench is all set to hear the TikTok case today. On 3 April, the Madras HC had called for the ban on the download of TikTok, owing to the spread of pornographic content on the platform. It’s also been alleged, in several countries no less, that the app is proving to be a fertile hunting ground for paedophiles. Following the government order, TikTok has been blocked on the App Store and Play Store since 18 April. The SC has also said that if the Madras HC fails to decide on the interim relief by on 24 April, the order will stand vacated — meaning, if the order isn't passed today by the High Court, the ban on TikTok app will be overturned. We are following @barandbench for the live updates from the court.