SC lifts TikTok ban, Madras HC to pass interim order

The Supreme Court today asked the Madras High Court to decide on its interim ban on Chinese-owned TikTok video app by Wednesday. The ban on the app, which claims to have more than 120 million users in India, will be lifted if the high court fails to give its decision on a plea filed by Chinese company Bytedance, which owns TikTok, the top court has said.

The Bench of Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna passed the order. Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi appeared for TikTok.

The Court stated that if the Madras High Court fails to decide on the interim relief on April 24, the interim order will stand vacated. The High Court had passed an interim order calling for a ban on the mobile app earlier this month. Bytedance, in its petition, told the top court that the interim order was passed without hearing them.

The top court had earlier refused to stay the Madras High Court interim order that directed the centre to ban the video app over concerns about access to pornographic content through it.