Alphabet Inc’s Google has blocked access to the hugely popular video app TikTok in India to comply with a state court’s directive to prohibit its downloads, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told reporters on Tuesday.
The move comes hours after a court in southern Tamil Nadu state refused a request by China’s Beijing Bytedance Technology Co (北京字節跳動科技) to suspend a ban on its TikTok app, putting its future in one of its key markets in doubt.
The state court had on April 3 asked the federal government to ban TikTok, saying it encouraged pornography and made child users vulnerable to sexual predators.
Its ruling came after an individual launched a public interest litigation calling for a ban.
The federal government had sent a letter to Apple Inc and Google to abide by the state court’s order, an Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology official said.
The app was still available on Apple’s platforms late on Tuesday, but was no longer available on Google’s Play store in India.
Google said in a statement that it does not comment on individual apps, but adheres to local laws.
TikTok, which allows users to create and share short videos with special effects, has become hugely popular in India, but has been criticized by some politicians who say that its content is inappropriate.
It had been downloaded more than 240 million times in India, app analytics firm Sensor Tower said in February.
More than 30 million users in India installed it in January, 12 times more than in the same month last year, the firm said.
Jokes, clips and footage related to India’s thriving movie industry dominate the app’s platform, along with memes and videos in which youngsters, some scantily clad, lip-sync and dance to popular music.
Bytedance challenged the state court’s ban order in India’s Supreme Court last week, saying it went against freedom of speech rights in India.
The top court had referred the case back to the state court, where a judge on Tuesday rejected Bytedance’s request to put the ban order on hold, said K. Neelamegam, a lawyer arguing against Bytedance in the case.
TikTok earlier said in a statement that it had faith in the Indian judicial system and was “optimistic about an outcome that would be well received by millions” of its users.
It did not comment further on the judge’s decision.
However, the company welcomed the decision to appoint a senior lawyer to assist the court in upcoming proceedings.
The state court has asked Bytedance for written submissions and has scheduled its next hearing for Wednesday next week.
The legal action against Bytedance could set a precedent of Indian courts intervening to regulate content on social media and other digital platforms, said Salman Waris, a technology lawyer at TechLegis Advocates & Solicitors.
In its Supreme Court filing, Bytedance said that a “very minuscule” proportion of TikTok content was considered inappropriate or obscene.
The company employs more than 250 people in India and had plans for more investment as it wanted to expand the business, it said.
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