Will India Lift Ban on TikTok? Speculations Rise Amid Partial Website Access

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): Discussions are once again rife about the return of the Chinese short-video app TikTok, which was banned in India about five years ago. #TikTok started trending on social media platform X, after which a rumor spread that the government may soon lift the ban on it. After this news, users were divided into two factions, some supported its return while many opposed it. However, amid these speculations, the truth is that TikTok's path to return to India is still full of challenges.

Why did the rumour of return spread?

Actually, this whole matter started when the official website of TikTok started opening partially in India. As soon as the website opened, people on social media started speculating that this is a sign of the return of the app. Apart from this, the improving diplomatic relations between India and China in recent times are also being linked to these speculations. However, it is important to note that the app is still not available for download on the Google Play Store or Apple App Store, nor has its parent company ByteDance made any official announcement.

Why was TikTok banned?

The Indian government banned 59 Chinese apps, including TikTok, in June 2020 under Section 69A of the IT Act, citing national security and data sovereignty. The decision came at a time when tensions between India and China were at their peak in the Galwan Valley. The government's concern was that the servers of these apps are in China and the private data of Indian users could go under the control of the Chinese government, which was a major threat to the country's security. Similar action was taken against more than 200 other Chinese apps in the coming months.

The biggest challenges on the way back

Even though relations between the two countries have improved, the biggest condition for TikTok's return is to comply with Indian laws. To operate in India again, TikTok will have to store all the data of Indian users on servers located in India. TikTok's parent company Bytedance is headquartered in Beijing and its alleged "strategic partnership" with the Chinese government is a major concern for Indian agencies.

The market equation has changed

Before the ban, TikTok had more than 200 million active users in India and was one of the most popular apps. But the market has completely changed in the last five years. Instagram Reels has successfully filled the space vacated by TikTok. Apart from this, Indian apps like Moj and Chingari have also made their place. In such a situation, even if TikTok makes a comeback, it will have to struggle hard to regain its lost ground.