Google, Apple block TikTok in India, in move likely to hurt Bytedance’s short video app in key market
- The court ruling restricts future downloads of the app in India, not existing users, said one of the people familiar with the decision
Google and Apple complied with an Indian court order to block downloads of the popular app TikTok over government concerns with illicit content, according to people familiar with the decision. The move could handicap the app’s owner, China’s Bytedance, the world’s most highly valued start-up, in one of its most promising markets.
An Indian state court had earlier asked the federal government to ban TikTok, citing concerns the video-sharing mobile app exposed children to troubling content, including pornography. Bytedance fought the proposal, but was overruled by India’s Supreme Court. Regulators then asked Alphabet’s Google and Apple to remove TikTok from their app stores.
Representatives for Google and Apple declined to comment. The court ruling restricts future downloads of the app in India, not existing users, said one of the people familiar with the decision, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters.
A Bytedance spokeswoman declined to comment on the app store decisions, but provided a statement on the India situation: “The case is still ongoing to date,” the company said. “We have faith in the Indian judicial system and we are optimistic about an outcome that would be well received by over 120 million monthly active users in India.”
India is one of several nations across Asia adopting more draconian oversight of internet companies, similar to the way China regulates the web.