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TikTok has been banned on both Android and iOS platforms, and new users cannot download the app. It raises the question of how safe or appropriate is the app ecosystem for teens and tweens.
Recently, the Indian government asked Google and Apple to take down the popular short video mobile app TikTok from their app stores. The order was passed by the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court, directing the government to ban the download of TikTok app in the country.
What it means is that no new Android user or iPhone user will be able to download this app from either the Play Store or App Store respectively. Google has blocked access to TikTok in its Play Store to comply with the court’s directive. The app is not available in Apple’s App store as well.
As on date, existing users who already have this app installed on their smartphones can continue to use it. However, whether this functionality will continue to be available in the coming days is still to be seen. The ban was issued as the app was found to be hosting child pornographic content on its platform which gave sexual predators the opportunity to target children via this app.
ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, said in its petition to the Supreme Court that it could not be held liable for actions of third parties on the platform. They claimed that their app was like any other social media app and singling out TikTok was discriminatory and arbitrary. The Supreme Court filing also said that ByteDance found a ‘very minuscule’ amount of content on the platform that was obscene or inappropriate. They now need to appear in Court for another hearing on April 24th.
The legal action against ByteDance could set a precedence of courts intervening to regulate content on social media and other digital platforms. India is one of several nations across Asia which is coming up with stringent measures to regulate web content.
The app, most popular among teens, children, and young adults has been downloaded more than 240 million times in India and has more than 120 million monthly active users. The app mainly contains jokes, clips, and footage of movies along with 15 to 30 seconds short music videos in which youngsters lip sync and dance to popular music.
In Delhi, a 19-year-old teenager was allegedly shot dead by his friend as they posed with a pistol to make a video on the mobile app TikTok. The app has already been banned in Bangladesh and hit with a large fine in the United States for illegally collecting information from children.
ByteDance is a Chinese-owned social media startup currently valued at $75 billion. With its mobile app TikTok, the company has been hugely successful in increasing its user base outside China. And somewhere along the way, the app has evolved as a popular means of teenage expression in the cyber world. What is disturbing is that a lot of this teenage expression includes sexually suggestive dancing, age inappropriate clothing and even dangerous stunts.
Although it will be unfair to say that everyone who is using this app is misusing it, yet there have been instances where a lot of people have not used this app most wisely. When we add the issue of child safety to this mix, we are faced with a compelling need to put in checks and balances at appropriate junctures to prevent any harm befalling children.
Image via Canva
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People say that women are the greatest enemies of women. I vehemently disagree. It is the patriarchal mindset that makes women believe in the wrong ideology.
The entire world celebrates International Women’s Day on March 8, 2024. It should be a joyful day, but unfortunately, not all women are entitled to this privilege, as violence against women is at its peak. The experience of oppression pushes many women to choose freedom. As far as patriotism is concerned, feminism is not a cup of tea in this society.
What happens when a woman decides to stand up for herself? Does this world easily accept the decisions of women in this society? What inspires them to be free of the clutches of the oppression that women have faced for ages? Most of the time, women do not get the chance to decide for themselves. Their lives are always at the mercy of someone, which can be their parents, siblings, husband, or children.
In some cases, women do not feel the need to make any decisions. They are taught to obey the patriarchal system, which makes them believe that they are right. In my family, I was never taught to make decisions on my own. It was always my parents who bought dresses and all that I needed.
14 years after her last feature film Dhobi Ghat, storyteller extraordinaire comes up with her new film, Laapataa Ladies, a must watch.
*Some spoilers alert*
Every religion around the world dictates terms to women. The onus is always on women to be ‘modest’ and cover their faces and bodies so men can’t be “tempted”, rather than on men to keep their eyes where they belong and behave like civilized beings. So much so that even rape has been excused on the grounds of women eating chowmein or ‘men will be men’. I think the best Hindi movie retort to this unwanted advice on ‘akeli ladki khuli tijori ki tarah hoti hai’ (an alone woman is like an open jewellery box) came from Geet in Jab We Met – Kya aap gyan dene ke paise lete hain kyonki chillar nahin hain mere paas.
The premise of Laapataa Ladies is beautifully simple – two brides clad in the ghunghat that covers their identity get mixed up on a train. Within this Russian Doll, you get a comedy of errors, a story of getting lost, a commentary on patriarchy’s attitude towards women, a mystery, and a tale of finding oneself, all in one. Done with a mostly light touch that has you laughing and nodding along.
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