Tamil Nadu may approach the Centre to ban TikTok app

On Tuesday, the Tamil Nadu Information and Technology Minister M Manikandan said the state government would approach the Centre for help in banning the app TikTok.

The Indian Express reports: “The move comes after AIADMK leader and Nagapattinam MLA Thamimun Ansari raised the demand, claiming that the app is ‘damaging’ to Indian culture. Manikandan said that the state will recommend the ban on TikTok the way they ‘tackled the Blue Whale challenge’, referring to a ‘suicide game’ blamed for the deaths of several youth across the country.”

Ansari said the app was “misleading children” with “vulgar content”. He added: “Look at Saudi Arabia or China, they all have a system to restrict such apps. India is known for family culture, and the great values we teach our children. Most of the TikTok videos are nothing but dances and songs presented in a vulgar way. Many people are upset about this. If the government cannot ban it, I will follow up this issue seeking better regulation.”

TikTok is a China-based app to upload and share short videos, usually of people lip-synching popular songs and dialogues from movies.