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TikTok, PUBG Mobile face bans in India over fears they're corrupting kids
India’s censorship move is being compared to China’s Great Firewall
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This article originally appeared on ABACUS
Two of the hottest apps in India today both come from China: TikTok and PUBG Mobile. Now they have something else in common, too. The two popular apps are facing bans in India, with legal cases suggesting they are corrupting the country’s youth.
TikTok, the viral short video sensation, has its roots in China
Google and Apple could be forced to remove ByteDance’s video-sharing app TikTok from Google Play and the iOS App Store in India following a recent court case. TikTok has more than 240 million downloads in India, making it the country’s third most downloaded app behind Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.
The popular Chinese app recently became the target of an Indian court after it was noted that the platform exposes children to pornographic content. The Madras High Court in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu issued an order to the Indian government to ban the app. While further adjudication is still required, the case has the potential to evolve into a countrywide ban.
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PUBG Mobile, the hit mobile game from Tencent, faces a similar fate. The battle royale shooter has more than 50 million players in India. In spite of that popularity, or because of it, the game was temporarily banned in four cities over concerns of in-game violence and game addiction.
The situation recently escalated further after the Bombay High Court directed the Indian government to check the content of PUBG Mobile and take necessary action, which could include a ban.
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Reactions from Indian citizens to the prospect bans on both apps have been mixed. While many support the idea of cleaning up inappropriate content online, others worry about the precedent it sets for online censorship.
PUBG, the battle royale pioneer
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