'Never shared users' information with any foreign government': TikTok after India bans 59 Chinese apps
New Delhi/IBNS: Chinese video-sharing social networking site TikTok on Tuesday said it had shared no information of its users with any foreign government including the one in China, following the ban imposed on all apps from the Asian country by India.
Issuing a statement, TikTok said, "We have been invited to meet concerned government stakeholders for an opportunity to respond and submit clarifications. TikTok continues to comply with all data privacy and security requirements under Indian law and has not shared any information of our users in India with any foreign government, including the Chinese government."
"Further if we are requested to in the future we would not do so. We place the highest importance on user privacy and integrity.”
"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 central government on Monday banned 59 apps with Chinese links including the very popular TikTok and UC Browser in the wake of the deadly faceoff with China in Ladakh on Jun 15 which had left at least 20 Indian soldiers martyred.
In a statement, the government said the apps were blocked "in view of the information available (that) they are engaged in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order."
The Centre noted that there have been raging concerns on aspects relating to data security and safeguarding the privacy of 130 crore Indians.
"The Ministry of Information Technology has received many complaints from various sources including several reports about misuse of some mobile apps available on Android and iOS platforms for stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users’ data in an unauthorized manner to servers which have locations outside India," the statement said.
"The compilation of these data, its mining and profiling by elements hostile to national security and defence of India, which ultimately impinges upon the sovereignty and integrity of India, is a matter of very deep and immediate concern which requires emergency measures," it added.
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