Picture used for representational purpose only

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu information technology minister M Manikandan on Tuesday announced that the state government would request the Centre to ban TikTok — a mobile app for sharing short videos .

Manikandan was responding to Manithaneya Jananayaga Katchi legislator Thamimun Ansari’s demand that the app be banned for “degrading culture and encouraging pornography, besides causing law and order problems.” “Various sections are demanding a ban on this mobile application. We will soon seek a ban on TikTok, just like the ban on the Blue Whale game by the Centre,” the minister said.

A TikTok spokesman said the company has robust measures to prevent misuse and easy mechanism to report contents that violate its terms of use.

App popular among women, college students

TikTok (earlier known as Musical.ly), created by a Chinese company, has also come under attack after a 20-year-old Bengaluru student’s videos shot on the app were obscenely misrepresented to troll her and PMK founder S Ramadoss demanded that the application be banned because of the “cultural degradation” it was causing.

In Erode district, functionaries of the Arunthathiyar Ilaingar Peravai, petitioned collector C Kathiravan on Tuesday demanding a ban on the video app across the country. Its state organiser N R Vadivel said the Chinabased Tik Tok was getting popular among women and youngsters, particularly college students.

However young users of the app and netizens in the city have expressed ire at the government’s move seeking to ban the application rather than finding ways to effectively regulate content online.

For 23-year-old actor Mrinalini Ravi, Tik Tok has acted as a Launchpad into the film industry. “I uploaded my Tik Tok videos online and was noticed by film directors. It led me to several offers and has opened similar avenues for many others looking for a breakthrough into the industry as well. There are many benefits of a platform like this, and one must focus on these positives, because misuse happens throughout the cyber world and a ban is not the solution,” she says.

A large chunk of young users subscribing to Tik Tok do it for pure entertainment and feel that it is being overrated by authorities. “It’s a light-hearted way to express oneself and share it with friends. There are far more serious issues unfolding online, and educating young users of these threats and finding ways to curb them is a better way to ensure safety online,” says 30-year-old entrepreneur Deepti Nirmal.

Owned by Chinese tech company ByteDance, TikTok is used to create and share short videos. It was launched in India in 2017.

In a short span of time, the app became a hit among youth.

A recent report by app intelligence firm Sensor Tower pegged India to be the bestperforming region for Tik Tok. Accounting for 27% of new TikTok installs between December 2017 and Dec 2018, the country has seen downloads of the app increase nearly 25 times during that time, from 1.3 million to 32.3 million, the report said.

Reacting to the allegations, spokesperson for Tik-Tok said, “At TikTok, maintaining a safe and positive in-app environment is our priority. We have robust measures to protect users against misuse, including easy reporting mechanisms that enable users and law enforcement to report content that violates our terms of use and community guidelines. We are committed to respecting local laws and regulations.”

