Government orders Apple and Google to remove TikTok from app stores, says report

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has ordered Apple and Google to remove TikTok from its app stores, reported TechCrunch.

The order comes after the Madras High Court investigated and determined that the app was encouraging pornography and other illicit content, the report said on Tuesday.

TikTok has hundreds of millions of users, including minors.

The app, which lets users create short, fun videos, has faced a lot of criticisms for allegedly allowing ‘pornographic’ and ‘sleazy’ content.

This is not the first time that the app is facing immense criticisms. Earlier, in the US, the Federal Trade Commission ruled that the app violated children’s privacy laws and fined it $5.7 million, the report added.

However, in India, around 120 million users already have the app downloaded. Besides, Android users will be able to download the app from unauthorised sources, which would create problems of hacking and phishing and other cybersecurity issues, the report further mentioned.