TikTok was back in the news a few days ago, following speculation that the short video platform would return to India after the website became accessible. Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister for IT, Information and Broadcasting, and Railways, has confirmed that no discussions or proposals to lift the ban are currently underway.
“There is absolutely no proposal which has come from any quarters,” Vaishnaw said in an interview with Moneycontrol, denying rumours that ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, was getting ready to re-enter the market. Last month, TikTok’s website briefly went live on some mobile and broadband networks, sparking rumours and creating a stir on social media. The glitch was unrelated to a possible relaunch, officials have now clarified.
Also read: Samsung One UI 8 rollout: When Galaxy S25, S24, and other Galaxy devices may get Android 16
In June 2020, TikTok and 58 other Chinese apps were banned due to concerns about data privacy and national security. Apple and Google were ordered to take the apps down from their respective stores after the restriction was made permanent in January 2021. With more than 200 million users, India was TikTok’s biggest market at the time of the ban. Similar actions were taken against ByteDance’s other products, such as Helo and CapCut, and its music app Resso was eventually shut down in India.
Also read: iPhone 17 Air expected to dominate Apple’s Sept 9 event but may disappoint buyers, here’s why
Vaishnaw stated that the government would uphold an open policy framework regarding Chinese investments in the Indian tech sector. Chinese funding in local startups has been greatly slowed down, he said, by foreign direct investment regulations that were implemented in April 2020 and require prior approval for investors from nations that share land borders with India.