Category: Government, Law and Policy

Huawei Confirms HongMeng OS, But Will Stick To Android For The Near Future

On the 12th of July, Chinese tech titan, Huawei hosted a press conference in which it talked about the its operations over the last 6 months. The company, despite being put on the Entity List by the US Department of Commerce, has reportedly increased its revenue for the first half of 2019. The Entity List designation barred all American company’s from having any sort of trade relations with the Chinese corporation. Therefore, it could not sell the number of smartphones running Android OS which were originally anticipated. Following the ban, it was revealed that Huawei had been working on a secret OS for year’s. It was speculated that if the US ban is not lifted, the company would sell smartphones in the future with its in house developed HongMeng OS aka ArkOS. Fortunately, the ban has been raised and it seems that Huawei will continue selling Android smartphones rather than switching to HongMeng OS, at least in the near future.

A top official of Huawei was seen claiming an increase in the revenue for first half of the year; It can be noted that the ban took effect in May and that the company had a successful run in the first four months of 2019. Only the figures for the second half of the year will show the true implications of the ban on Huawei. Especially now after the ban has been lifted but its affects are still lingering; the America stance on the situation allows US companies to sell their services and technology to the Huawei as long as it does not threaten national security.

In the press conference, Huawei also confirmed the name of its upcoming operating system dubbed HongMeng OS. However, the company, unlike part reports, isn’t planning on making it into an Android replacement for its current or near future handsets. For now the company has chosen to stick with the OS being developed for its other varying product lineups. It is speculated that HongMeng OS can still be used if another US ban is levied on the company as a worse case scenario.

Also Read: Google Allows Its Employees To Listen To Voice Assistant Interaction With Users

The second half of 2019 will tell how well Huawei has managed to pull through since the ban. The company has yet to take a step back with its myriad of smartphone releases over just the past month. Huawei had reportedly shipped over 100 million smartphones in the year, before the ban. The true repercussions might be seen soon. Stay tuned for more updates on the tech giant and the trade tensions.

July 12, 2019
Indian Government Will Soon Be Able To Track Stolen Mobiles More Effectively

People unlucky enough have had their smartphones being lost, and more, unfortunately, stolen. It is a common sight in police stations to see multiple people lining up to file a report for stolen handsets in India. There has already been a large outcry over the authorities inability and ill-equipped manner to tackle this issue. The widespread evil that has already affected most people either directly or indirectly. Now, The Department of Telecommunications of the Indian Government is reportedly ready with a new system to finally tackle the extremely evident problem.

Xiaomi Redmi 7A

DoT’s new system will be capable of tracking mobile phones that are detectable even if they have their SIM cards removed or IMEI numbers changed. As per a report, the new system will be called the Central Equipment Identity Register which will be deployed nationwide in August. CIER is a new technology for tracking lost and stolen phones which have been under development since July 2017 under the DoT. The agency was instructed to create a system that discourages theft and snatching cases that prevalent in the country by the Indian Government.

Mobile phone theft and snatching cases have blown out of control over the past couple of years. According to reports, a 500% increase of snatching cases has been reported in New Delhi alone over the last five years. The Indian Government has reportedly allocated a sum of INR 15 crores for the spread of the CIER system throughout the country. CIER will make all stolen or lost handsets unusable across every service provider networks. Most stolen phones are sold in the black market where new IMEI numbers are flashed on these devices to make them untraceable. The new method will still affect the stolen devices with changed IMEI numbers making them just an expensive paperweight, unusable across networks.

Also Read: Instagram Introduces An Abuse Filter To Restrict Cyber Bullying

IMEI database of all mobile operators will be consolidated in one central system. It means that network providers will be able to share details of stolen or lost handsets to be blocked from future use. The new system is currently being tested for the first time in Maharashtra. Indian Government have finally found a concrete method to crack down on criminals that harm its lawful citizens. It can potentially save the people crores in rupee from the loss of property. CIER is a much-needed system which will finally be put into practice.

July 9, 2019
Samsung Galaxy Owners Accuse Company Of Misleading IP Rating

Anyone who owns a TV will have inadvertently seen a Samsung ad for its Galaxy smartphones. The South Korean company is one of the largest mobile OEM in the world and has the capital to heavily invest in marketing their various products. Problem thereon lies with companies being capable of illustrating their devices with an over-the-top or exaggerated fashion.

Samsung is currently being charged for such a fraud on misleading advertisement by the Australian Government.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has alleged that Samsung is misleading its customers over the nature of its various water resistant smartphones. The ACCC claims that the company has portrayed its handsets in or near unsuitable environments such as swimming pools and oceans since 2016. Furthermore, Samsung reportedly did not have any grounds to illustrate it in an aforementioned manner.

Samsung sells a good portion of its smartphone lineups with IP68 water resistance; this means that it can last in 1.5meters deep water for 30 minutes. However, the ACCC pointed out, that this does not cover all types of water. The tech giant has claimed themselves that the Galaxy S10 isn’t suitable for beach use. Samsung is allegedly attracting customers with false ads that are not suitable for real-world practices. The corrosive nature of water with a high amount of salt is not taken into account in such ads. It can potentially harm the water-resistant devices and cause loses to unaware users.

Galaxy S10

Also Read: Huawei Working On A Smartphone With Camera Under Display

Samsung is reportedly going to take a stand and stick to its marketing strategies. The company will fight the case against the Government agency’s allegations. It goes to show how large OEMs with massive amounts of capital can potentially opt for unfair business practices at the potential cost of its customers. These practices can go on to harm lower business rivals and other companies. Companies like these do not have such a large sum of monetary funding.

July 5, 2019
Indian Government May Launch It Own Chat App Like WhatsApp

The increased hostility between the US and China have sent the rippling waves of cause and effect to the entire world. Trade tensions between the two highly influential regions have already seen victims. Huawei was one of the most notable to be caught in the crossfire. The Chinese company had been dealt a major blow to its business. To combat a similar fate, the Indian Government is considering the development of an indigenous application for chat and emails.

The US has shown that it is capable of pressurising or enforcing restrictions which have heavy implications on any organisation or country. Senior Government officials in India were in a state of alert following the US sanctioned bans on Huawei. This was due to companies like Intel, ARM, Google and Qualcomm severing ties with the company after the ban. These large MNCs important due to their technology or services that are utilized by virtually every nation. Furthermore, if for some reason the US places any country on such a blacklist, it can lead to severe complications.

India, to tackle this, is planning to develop its own proprietary chat app similar to WhatsApp with other homegrown secure communications network. The apps would generally be made available for the various Indian Government agencies, to protect the country from possible vulnerabilities. This will be a counter to any rising geopolitical tensions with other nations. The US Commerce Department banning Huawei incited strong discussions within India’s top brass. The discussion encompassed plans for developing a secure platform for exchanging strategically important information.

The southeast Asian country is considering the implementation of this system for Government communications at the very least. This will ensure a degree of autonomy and self-dependence that would not have been achievable otherwise. Indian Government officials have already begun calling for the insulation of communications with reduced reliance on private solutions. The plan details a chat app which will keep and store all important related data within the country and not on some remote servers.

The US is currently pressuring India to bar Huawei from 5G in India. This arrives after plans for the first wave of 5G trials. Huawei has asked the Indian Government to take an independent stance on this, with no “back door entry” offered. India has yet to give a response to this. The tech giant received a ban from the US on 21s May, barring Huawei’s products and also barring US companies to supply software or hardware components. A company cannot ever be completely self-reliant. It is a regular phenomenon where technology and services are exchanged within the industries. The same as how Huawei suffered from the ban, any nation could also technically be crippled by strategic nations like the US.

Also Read: BlackBerry And LG Are Making Autonomous Cars

According to Government reports, the US Trade Representatives have already red-flagged India’s data privacy bill and intermediary guidelines. Basically, American companies like Facebook are resisting efforts of data localisation within the Indian subcontinent. The ban on Huawei only points at the possibility of any country being banned whenever they desire to do so. The localisation efforts by the Government could prevent such reliance and save the nation from a crippling state in a worst-case scenario with the “Sarkari” app.

June 27, 2019
India Asks WhatsApp To Digitally Fingerprint Every Message For Traceability

WhatsApp Messenger, owned by the American social media giant Facebook is one of the most popular messaging services in the world. And the largest market for the application in India, with over 200 million active users in the country. Lately, the platform has been plagued with malicious activities, some of which are criminal in nature. To counter that, the Indian government has asked WhatsApp to digitally fingerprint every message sent on the app for easy traceability.

About the move

A report claims that WhatsApp has been asked by the Indian government to make it easy to trace the origins of a message on its platform. This may be achieved by placing a digital fingerprint of the sender on the message. Notably, the messaging app boasts of a secure, end to end encryption on its platform since the year 2016. This according to the company, does not let even its employees view what has been sent or received on its platform. Two government officials have said that it should be able to identify where a message has originated and how many people have interacted with it; that is either have read it or have forwarded it. Interestingly, this is not the first time demand from the Indian government similar to the one mentioned above has been shared with WhatsApp.

Also read: Apple TV Will Gain Picture In Picture Functionality With Upcoming Update

While the Indian government has claimed the request to trace the messages on WhatsApp will be limited; it goes against the company’s privacy policies. The company claims it cannot go forward with the demands as it would change the architecture of the product and make it a different application altogether. So, the introduction of a digital fingerprint to track the origins of a message on WhatsApp might be seen as a breach of privacy.

June 18, 2019
Huawei Cancels MateBook X And E Over US Trade Ban

Huawei had unveiled its new series of laptops dubbed the MateBook at the CES Asia and MWC in 2019. However, the onset of the US trade ban that has led to the cancellation of the new laptop lineup. The news arrives after Huawei faced the implications of being placed in the US Entity List (National Security Threat List), this has made the company unable to supply the PC. The CEO of the Chinese tech giant called the current string of events “unfortunate” and the availability of the laptop is dependent on “how long the Entity List will be there.”

Huawei had previously announced plans for a MateBook X and E series laptop. The higher specced X series were to be equipped with Intel Core series chipsets while the E series were to sport ARM architecture based Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 with an affordable price tag. Both laptops would have run on the Windows 10 OS but are still highly unlikely to ship globally. The aftermath of the US and China trade wars are still uncertain with China preparing its own retaliation against the US.

The US President, Donald Trump had his administration pass an executive order on May claiming Huawei as a threat to national security. This implies that the US companies are barred from collaborating with the corporation that is designated threats to the US. Huawei was singled out as the tensions started rising between the trade of the US and China. Any multi-national corporation placed in the Entity List will have its business in the US severely restrictive. The company can no longer buy or utilize US tech with Governments approval.

Huawei, after the ban, could no longer work with any software or hardware that were based in the US. This led to companies like Intel (CPU chipsets), Google (Android OS), ARM (Smartphone Chipset Architecture), Wi-Fi Alliance and many more to stop all business related ventures with the accused company. Since Huawei no longer has access to any of the aforementioned companies’ technology and software, it is practically impossible to hold a business model under such restrictions.

Also Read: Pixel 4 Design Revealed By Google

Additionally, the Commerce Department of the US has left a 90-day window for Huawei to practice with a temporary general license. This, in turn, shall allow the company to complete all necessary and on-going contracts and agreements that are legally binding towards it. However, a report from China has since disputed that the MateBook will supposedly launch in July running Windows OS from Microsoft.

June 13, 2019
40% Cabs In India To Be Electric By 2026

In an attempt to reduce pollution and combat climate change, the Indian government is planning to take an initiative that may help towards the cause. As per reports, the government will order popular rideshare companies such as Uber and Ola to replace 40 percent of their vehicular fleet with electric cabs by the year 2026.

Regarding yearly goals, the concerned authorities will expect the companies to increase the number of electric vehicles gradually. For reference, the number of EVs (electric vehicles) should be 2.5 percent by 2021, 5 percent by 2022, 10 percent by 2023, and 40 percent by 2024. Other reports reveal that the government may introduce a rule stating that all vehicles having commercial implications should be electric by the year 2026. This rule won’t be limited to just cars, instead, new electric motorcycles and scooters will be also incorporated in such a case.

If such a rule is brought into existence, EV manufacturers such as Hero Electric, Tork Motorcycles and Ather Energy may start a whole new lineup of Electric vehicles that are affordable and efficient. A boost like this may enable other automobile brands to join in with their own technologies and vehicles. However, electric cabs may not be the most successful investments in the country as of now. In the year 2016, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced the pre-ordering of electric Tesla vehicles in the country, but till date, there is no news regarding any developments to the plan.

Also Read: Nokia Reportedly Plans On Releasing Two 5G Smartphones In Q3 Of 2019

Popular rideshare organization Ola previously launched an EV test program in Nagpur, which failed and the venture had to be shut down in the year 2018. Nonetheless, the program raised more than US$ 300 million to keep the venture going. Ola claims that it will incorporate 1 million electric vehicles on Indian roads by the year 2022. The company is yet to announce any update regarding the project, but considering that environmental impacts are enforcing changes, electric vehicles are the way to go.

June 10, 2019
Cryptocurrency Transactions Are Now Punishable For Up To 10 Years In India

Cryptocurrency is a digital currency format in which a number of encryption techniques are used to regulate the generation of units of currency and verify the transfer of the same. As per latest news, any person in India found dealing in cryptocurrencies is liable to serve 10 years in prison. This penalty will be applicable to all those who “generate, mine, store, sell, transfer, dispose and issue” any forms of cryptocurrencies, directly or indirectly. Also, besides making it completely illegal, the bill associated with the proposal will make the holding of cryptocurrency a non-bailable offence.

The statement was published in a proposal in the draft of Banning of Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2019. This is an extremely bashing news for those who were expecting the legalization of Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies. Moreover, a lot of cryptocurrency trading platforms in the country will face a huge setback from this proposal, since they have been waiting for a favoured decision from the government’s side.

The panel drafting the bill is being led by the Secretary of Economic Affairs, Subhash Chandra Garg. Furthermore, the panel consists of members from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), in addition to representatives from investigative agencies and Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). Reports state that strict laws would soon be implemented to deal with people involved in the trade of cryptocurrency. Also, sources reported that India is likely to have its own digital currency.

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The article quotes that “If any conduct is punishable under any other law, this Act will be in addition to, and not in derogation of such law”. Currently, Bitcoin is the largest cryptocurrency in the world. As mentioned before, the introduction of a new cryptocurrency, speculated to be called the “Digital Rupee” will drastically change the way cryptocurrency dealings are made in the country. Only the future can guarantee the viability of this decision.

June 8, 2019
Microsoft Takes Down Online Facial Recognition Database Over Accusations

As a consequence to yet another accusation, American technology giant Microsoft quietly removed an online database that contained a whopping 10 million images of almost 1,00,000 people. As per reports, the images were derived from a multitude of search engines and were published in a dataset called MS Celeb in the year 2016. Accusations stated that many people in the dataset were not aware that their images were being used and that their consent wasn’t asked for while capturing the images.

The images in the Microsoft dataset were being used to train AI based facial recognition systems around the world. For instance, Chinese firms SenseTime and Megvii were using the images in the set to develop their software. Moreover, military researchers were also making use of the images to train recognition-based applications. The same dataset was previously used in an AI project to identify various celebrities. Sources state that the database has been directly linked to China’s efforts to crack down on ethnic minorities in the country.

The images of people included in Microsoft’s database were scraped from the web under the Creative Commons License. As per the License, people can academically reuse the images, provided that permission has been granted by the copyright holder of the image, not the subject of the image. Previously, in April 2019, the Chinese government used facial recognition software to keep tabs on 11 million Uighurs (Muslim Minority).

Also Read: NASA Opens Commercial Opportunities For The International Space Station

This may be an alarming wake-up call for conglomerates in the light of the fact that consent is absolutely compulsory. If a check is not kept on the method which is being implemented to capture facial-recognition data, the same data can be used in unethical ways. Law enforcement agencies these days rely heavily on technology to ease investigations, but any software isn’t without its flaws. Further developments will expectedly shine more light on the case, but as of now, Microsoft has not stated anything regarding the matter.

June 8, 2019
Facebook Ordered by US Judge to Turn Over Records on Data Privacy

As per latest reports, Facebook has been ordered by a US judge to turn over emails from various shareholders amongst other records. The records were related to the company’s model of handling data privacy and security. This happened as a consequence of when British Political Consulting firm Cambridge Analytica accessed private data of 87 million users in 2015.

Shareholders of the social media giant stated that they had a credible basis to believe in the fact that Facebook board members may have been involved in data privacy breaches. The breach involving Cambridge Analytica, however, was not revealed until the month of March 2018. It was noted that at the time of the breach, Facebook was subject to a US Federal Trade Commission consent decree that essentially required the company to strengthen its data security measures.

The shareholders in the organization filed a suit against Facebook in order to obtain various records concerning the Cambridge Analytica and other breaches. In case any anomalies would be detected with the reports, the shareholders can also sue the company officials and related directors via a derivative lawsuit. Basically, a shareholder derivative suit is brought by a shareholder on behalf of a corporation. A shareholder can only sue on behalf of a corporation when the corporation has a valid cause of action, but has decided not to use it.

Also Read: Alphabet’s New AI Defeats Human Players In A Multiplayer Game

Cambridge Analytica was hired during US President Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign, and it used various profiling techniques to influence the behaviour of voters in general. However, as soon as the data breach was out in the open, it shut down, leading to the introduction of several US and European regulatory probes into Facebook. The company has been surrounded with controversies for quite some time now, including the disclosure of user passwords in plaintext to company employees. Current situations are not hinting towards the betterment of the scenario, indicating that Facebook needs to employ some serious discretionary measures in order to stabilize.

June 1, 2019
China Prepares A Counter Strike On The Huawei Ban

Trade relations between the US and China are rising in intensity again with China preparing for a response against the US ban on Huawei. The southeast Asian country has taken special measures to restrict the trade of rare earth elements to the US, placing the western country in its own ‘entity’ list. This puts the US in a blacklist as an unfavourable foreign company.

Japan’s SoftBank, taking the market opportunity has announced its plans for building its 5G network with equipment from Nokia and Ericsson amidst the turmoil. Huawei prior to this had been the supplier for 4G and was planned to collaborate alongside SoftBank for the same.

The restrictions on rare earth elements stand as a signal from the Beijing leaders of its willingness to retaliate with countermeasures in place. This, however, is reported to only be actually deployed if the trade war between the US and China worsens with time. One of the important rare elements derived from China is Neodymium, a popular industrial grade element used to make magnets. It is often seen advertised spec sheets of audio gear such as earphones and headsets. The US according to various trade experts and researchers have no outside alternative worthwhile apart from China.

The Chinese phone manufacturer, Huawei sits in the middle of the trade war zone. Taking a massive hit on its business with the loss of its huge deal with SoftBank related to 5G networking. This incident came after Huawei was claimed to be a national threat by the US President Donald Trump and placed in the Bureau of Industry and Security’s Entity List that has its business operations in America crippled.

Also Read: Apple Planning On Removing 3D Touch Feature In Future iPhones

Actions questioning Huawei’s networking equipment and services have never been raised although concerns regarding security have driven its potential business operations away from it. The company’s affiliation with the Chinese Government only worsens relations with foreign companies like the Japanese SoftBank who’s decision is only a result of such accusations thrown about. Regardless of how soon or how smoothly the trade tensions die out, Huawei’s brand trust with confidentiality in mind will remain as trauma in the minds of its future partners.

May 31, 2019
Madras High Court Lifts Ban From Popular App TikTok

TikTok is a wildly popular media sharing platform/application that has a lot of controversy surrounding it at the moment. On April 16, 2019, the Indian Government issued a report which stated that Google and Apple should take down the TikTok app from the respective application stores. Shortly after, the action was implemented by both American technology organizations, resulting in the removal of the application from the online app stores. As per latest reports, the Madras High Court has lifted the ban on the aforementioned app.

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court announced its decision on Wednesday (April 24, 2019). The Bench removed its interim order on the condition that the upload of any form of obscene content to the application will result in the revival of any court proceedings associated with the same. On the other hand, TikTok users are ecstatic, and so is the company. In a statement by ByteDance, which is the parent company of TikTok, this decision is greatly appreciated by the thriving community in India, as it will give a chance to the users to showcase their creativity via the application.

Previously, Tamil Nadu’s IT Minister M. Manikandan had suggested that the state should submit a petition to the Central Government in order to incorporate a strict ban on the application in India. Consequently, the HC had appointed Arvind Datar as the independent counsel to the court. As per recent reports, the Chinese company had appealed for interim relief by April 24, which led to the lift of the ban from TikTok in India.

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In further developments, TikTok said that it will continuously keep improving its security detail in order to regulate any forms of obscene and vulgar content on the application, while catering to the users’ needs at the same time. India’s resilience against such applications is increasing day-by-day, and only time will tell if banning such applications will lead to an improvement in the social culture or not.

April 25, 2019
Indian Origin Student Destroys 51,000 $ Worth Computers In US With A USB Killer

An MBA graduate from the College of St. Rose in Albany, New York has been found guilty of destroying computer systems worth over US $ 51,000. The wrongdoer named Vishwanath Akuthota used a device called USB Killer which is originally intended to check surge protection. The offender who belongs to the state of Andhra Pradesh was visiting his alma mater after completing his studies back in the year 2017.

The devices that were damaged by him include 7 Apple computers, 59 Windows computers and multiple monitors. The total damage is estimated to be worth over US $ 58,000 which include equipment worth US $ 51,000 and repair or installation cost of US $ 7,300. The culprit had filmed himself while killing the machines which were later used to backtrack him and as evidence of the crime.

What Is A USB Killer?

A USB Killer is a compact electronic device which looks identical to a thumb drive but it consists of several electronic capacitors which can be charged via the current from the connected device. The device once charged, outputs a high voltage current which is capable of rendering the unprotected device unusable. A USB killer is a legally purchasable device which is designed to test the surge protection of various electronic goods.

However, a USB killer can only harm devices which can receive electric current. The devices which are equipped with components that prevent the reception of current would go unharmed to such killer USB drives. Noteworthy, these devices are completely legal and can be ordered from Amazon with a simple click.

Penance On The Offender

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The former student has been found guilty to numerous charges and is liable to US $ 2,50,000 in fines. Reports state that the offender might even be sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment.

April 19, 2019
Samsung Korea May Be Responsible For ASML Software Theft

As per latest news, Chinese software organisations were accused of stealing software from ASML, which is one of the world’s biggest manufacturer of computing chips. The Chinese government was also accused of state espionage, although the CEO of ASML, Peter Wennink denied such claims. In an interview aired on Dutch Television on April 16 2019, Peter Wennink revealed that the Chinese government is not the one to be blamed in this scenario, instead, ASML’s biggest Korean customer is responsible for this data theft.

Details Of The Data Theft

There is no doubt that ASML’s “biggest Korean customer” is Samsung. Even though the CEO did not want to call out Samsung by name, he claimed that he discovered the aforementioned information after hiring an external agency to investigate the case of espionage. Upon drawing further conclusions, it was found out that the case is directly related to ordinary business espionage, not state espionage. Ex-Chinese employees have illegally forged the company’s software to develop their own company in order to compete with ASML itself.

The forgery motives weren’t just limited to compete with ASML, rather the minds behind this theft are planning to manufacture cheap knock-offs to Samsung smartphones. Further reports state that the involved spies are of Chinese origin, but currently hold American nationality. The new company developed by the accused employees is called “Xtal”, and it is also set up in the United States.

Samsung’s Relationship With Xtal And ASML

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The software was initially required to set up machines that could manufacture chips in optimum amounts as per production requirement. In the year 2016, Samsung claimed a 30% share in the aforementioned organization, Xtal, and consequently, ASML lost a valuable customer for that particular software in the form of Samsung. As of now, Samsung is ASML’s major client, but this may change in the light of any future revelations.

April 17, 2019
Google And Apple Take Down TikTok From Their Respective Application Stores

On April 16 2019, the Indian government asked American Multinational technology giants Apple and Google to take down the popular application TikTok from the respective application stores. This action took place soon after the Supreme court refused to issue a stay order regarding the ban of the viral app. As per reports, ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok had previously filed an appeal which alleged that such a ban will lead to a huge setback to the company in the future run. As per latest reports, the application has been banned from both Apple and Google’s application stores.

About TikTok

TikTok is an insanely viral media sharing application, which is a rebranded version of the application that was earlier referred to as ‘Musical.ly’. The app allows users to share self-created short videos with a background track of their choice. Millions of audio tracks are present in TikTok’s library. Furthermore, a multitude of filters and effects are available in the application, which can be used to enhance the video quality. The app is completely free to use and was gaining a lot of popularity among the younger audience.

The aforementioned application was accused of providing unregulated videos to its users, which contained instances of vulgar content. Reports stated that the Madurai bench of the aforementioned High Court had previously passed an order which directed the government to remove the application and any similar instances from the app stores. In the appeal filed by ByteDance, it claims to have taken down 6 million lewd and non-compliant videos from the application’s video library. Moreover, ByteDance also stated that the company trusts the Supreme Court to take the right decision.

Conclusions

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The Madras HC also appointed a senior advocate as an independent counsel in the case. The Senior Advocate will examine the implications of the application regarding any policy-violating content in the application. In the next hearing (which will be held on April 24), TikTok’s viability as a media sharing application will be brought to light. Even though there is a chance that the application may not ever make its way back to the Google Play Store and Apple App Store, TikTok Owners are quite positive regarding the results of the hearing in the light of the appointment of the new independent counsel.

April 17, 2019