Fresh controversy brewing around TikTok as Tamil Nadu government calls for ban on the video app, yet again

Tamil Nadu government is planning to ban TikTok on grounds of series of recent tragic incidents involving its users. Tamil Nadu's IT minister M. Manikandan has told the Assembly that they would take steps through Centre to ban the app.

The Minister said steps would be taken in light of media reports on deaths of users.

Earlier, TikTok was briefly banned by Madras High Court's Madurai bench over the concerns of "encouraging pornography" through the app. TikTok ban was later revoked after the app promised to improve overall experience and environment.

Recalling Tamil Nadu government's efforts in February to ban TikTok, the minister said the matter later ended up in Madras High Court's Madurai Bench. The Minister, however, said they would write again to the Centre.

"Tamil Nadu government will take steps for sure to ban the TikTok app," the minister said.

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We have reached out to TikTok for comment.

Recently, the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) issued an ultimatum to TikTok and its sister app Helo, asking them to respond to a set of 21 questions or face a ban otherwise.

India's IT ministry is threatening to take action against TikTok and Helo in response to a complaint by an RSS affiliate Swadeshi Jagran Manch to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that both apps are being misused to promote anti-national activities.

TikTok has been fighting one crisis after the other for quite some time now. Of late, TikTok has caught massive attention for its excessive usage among the youth, leading to tragic incidents and controversies across the country.

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Recently, a 23-year-old woman committed suicide in a TikTok video after her husband scolded her for her TikTok addiction. Such incidents continue to stir controversies in India, constantly putting TikTok in a tough spot.

TikTok is owned and operated by a Chinese internet company ByteDance that plans to invest $1 billion in India over the period of next three years.