Two Indian Parliamentarians Accused TikTok Of Data Collecting And Spreading Fake News

Two Indian parliamentarians accused Chinese short video platform TikTok of sharing the data of Indian users with China and helping spread “malicious content” and “fake news” in the country. Previously, another parliamentarian also made the same accusation.

They expressed their concerns about ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok and Helo, a regional language social networking app.

Misha urging the Indian government to issue a law on data protection said:

Also, Galla, an Andhra Pradesh-based industrialist, called on a prohibition on TikTok and relevant apps for posing a risk to the country as well as the democratic process. According to parliamentarian Mishra, the economic wing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Swadeshi Jagran Manch had sent PM Narendra Modi a letter about the way ByteDance became involved in the “nefarious” activities.

On July 1, Shashi Tharoor, MP of the Congress Party from Thiruvananthapuram, claimed that the app was collecting user data and sharing it to its home country's government. TikTok denied the allegation and said that it obeyed local laws in any market where it operated.

Previously, the Madras High Court asked for a temporary ban on new TikTok’s downloads in April, which acted on the petition saying that the app is dangerous to children. However, the ban was lifted shortly after that.

It is estimated that the TikTok app has around 120 million active users every month in India, which fiercely takes on the likes of Facebook, Indian startup ShareChat, and Instagram. Besides, Helo, with its 50 million active users every month, currently competes directly with ShareChat.

The data protection Bill in India is still being drafted, nine months after the Srikrishna Committee announced the first draft.

The Bill will issue rules on gathering, processing as well as storing data. It proposed that Indian private data should be stored in the country.