(Image source from: AP)
On Friday, TikTok refuted claims that it had been allowed back in India. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology initially banned the app in June 2020 because of worries about national security and user data protection. Speculation about its potential return emerged on Friday when some users found the official website of the Chinese social media app briefly accessible. A representative from TikTok told TechCrunch that the app is still not available in India, despite suggestions to the contrary. It continues to be inaccessible to users. “We have not restored access to TikTok in India and are still following the Government of India's orders,” the spokesperson stated. Additionally, a senior official from MeitY, who chose to stay unnamed, also verified to the publication that the government had not “unblocked or done anything” to permit access to the app owned by ByteDance in the country.
Rumors about TikTok possibly returning resurfaced on Friday when some users in India were able to access the Chinese social media platform. At that moment, staff from Gadgets 360 could also get to the TikTok website and reached the login page. Although we successfully set up an account and logged in, a message appeared on the OTP submission page stating, “TikTok is banned in India and we are working on it.” According to reports, this problem could have been due to a mistake in network configuration. This isn’t the first time rumors about TikTok’s return have been noted. In 2022, the platform was briefly possible to access because some internet providers mistakenly unblocked it. The app was banned in India in 2020 under Section 69A of the IT Act, which allows the government to restrict public access to online resources to protect India's sovereignty and integrity, national defense, state security, or good relations with other countries.
Since being banned due to growing tensions between India and China, TikTok has been looking for new ways to regain access to the Indian market. In 2022, ByteDance reportedly aimed to collaborate with the local Hiranandani Group to reintroduce TikTok. However, this plan did not come to fruition at that time. If it had succeeded, it could have opened the door for other banned apps from companies like Alibaba and Tencent to return to the country.
