TikTok returns to India: Did Govt lift ban on Chinese app?

With several claims of users being able to access the Chinese app TikTok's website on their webpage, government sources (according to a Hindustan Times report) from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology stated that the ban has not been lifted yet. 

Indian users on X have recently claimed that they can access the TikTok website in India; however, the app remains unavailable on both the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. 

As reported by the Hindustan Times, the government sources said, "The Government of India has not issued any unblocking order for TikTok. Any such statements/news is false and misleading. 

Following the Galwan Valley armed conflict between Indian and Chinese forces in June 2020, the Union Government announced a ban on 59 mobile applications, mostly based in China, including ByteDance-owned company TikTok, UC Browser, and WeChat. It cited concerns that the apps are "prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of the state and public order." 

Back then, tensions across the Indo-China border across Ladakh flared up, with ties between New Delhi and Beijing hitting an all-time low. Union Home Minister Amit Shah backed the decision to block the apps, signing off on a recommendation by then Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla. Later, the order was officially issued by the IT Ministry as per the protocol. 

The 59 apps were allegedly "leaking user data", as per the Union Government. An IT Ministry official had said, "All these apps have been reported to leak data. Their malpractices have also been singled out by experts. They have been said to take location data and transfer files to servers in China. Moreover, beauty apps such as BeautyPlus and Selfie Camera have also been reported for being a threat as they contain pornographic content." 

By January 2020, TikTok had nearly 200 million users in India. But, apart from India, several other countries have also accused Chinese companies of suspicion that they build backdoors in their hardware and software. Officials were wary of deploying Chinese-made 5G equipment in their countries. 

Even though the return of TikTok is just a claim right now, it might turn into a reality, owing to the current round of talks between India and China. Amid a 50% tariff by US on Indian imports, China has stated that "it is opening its borders for Indian goods." Thus, there is a possibility that India also rethinks about the ban...