After India banned short-video app TikTok, along with other Chinese apps that it said threaten its “sovereignty and integrity”, the app is now facing increasing scrutiny from other countries that have raised concerns over its data sharing and security risks.
The US and Australia are among the countries that have warned against the security risks of TikTok and accused the app of sharing data with the Chinese government. The company maintains that it has never and will never share user data with Beijing.
In the meantime, in India, where its millions of users can no longer access the app, the company is still dealing with regulatory scrutiny.
The government has sent questions to Chinese companies, including TikTok owner ByteDance, about their content and practices. The Information Technology Ministry asked the companies if they acted at the behest of any foreign government, censored content or lobbied influencers, according toReuters.
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TikTok said it was working to respond to the ministry’s queries and that it complied with all Indian laws, adding that users’ data security and privacy were its top priorities, the report added.
India was TikTok’s top growth market and accounted for 30% of its 2 billion downloads worldwide. The app has 165 million American users, according toBloomberg Quint.
Despite having a global user base, TikTok is finding itself in a vulnerable position due to its Chinese roots, as more and more countries rebuke Beijing for its growing aggressiveness. The US has been vocal about the need to “collectively respond” to the challenge from the Chinese Communist Party.
Experts also pointed out that apart from the data security aspect, TikTok’s links to China could also be a reason for the increased scrutiny of the app, especially after the Covid-19 outbreak.
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