Responding to the Indian government's interim ban on the app, TikTok on Tuesday, June 30, issued a statement, saying that the company had been invited to meet the government stakeholders to respond and submit clarifications.
In the statement, Nikhil Gandhi, Head of TikTok India said that the company has always adhered to the user's privacy and integrity. It has never revealed information about its users to any foreign government, including China's, and will continue to comply with data privacy and security under the Indian law.
"TikTok has democratized the internet by making it available in 14 Indian languages, with hundreds of millions of users, artists, story-tellers, educators and performers depending on it for their livelihood, many of whom are first time internet users," the statement read.
— TikTok India (@TikTok_IN) June 30, 2020
The company issued a separate statement to Reuters in the same regard, stating that the ban has been a 'big blowout' to the parent 'ByteDance', as India is one of its biggest markets for TikTok with roughly 200 million users in the country.
This is not the first time the company has faced a prohibition in India. Last year, it was banned over suspension of pornographic material in the app.
The IT ministry of India on Monday banned 59 Chinese-owned applications, including TikTok, ShareIt, UC Browser, Likee, WeChat, and Bigo Live, stating that they were "prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order."
This move came amid escalating tensions between India and China over the clash in Ladakh's Galwan Valley, in which 20 Indian Army personnel were killed in action and almost 76 injured.
The application is no longer available on Google Play Store and Apple App Store for India.
Also Read: Refusal By Wife To Wear Bangles, Sindoor Denotes Unwillingness To Accept Marriage: Gauhati HC