Instagram on Wednesday launched its new video-music feature called Reels in India. On first usage, it feels a lot like TikTok and offers similar functionalities, and can be accessed by swiping right on the home screen, similar to adding "stories".

The app will allow users to create videos with popular songs, but with&nbsp;a cap of 15 seconds on it. According to Instagram, this restriction is owing to the realisation that&nbsp; 45 per cent of clips on Instagram are indeed 15 seconds or lesser in length.

Do it all!

People can shoot videos, add filters, and music from Instagram, and will be able to share clips beyond the platform, just like TikTok.

Reels is embedded into the Instagram app, where one can access it from the tab where the Boomerang feature and others are located. You can also manage the speed, effects, and timer corresponding to your clips.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="/technology/chinese-apps-banned-instagram-set-to-launch-tiktok-rival-reels-in-india-311333" hreflang="en">Chinese apps banned: Instagram set to launch TikTok rival 'Reels' in India</a>

Additionally, Reels may be shared with anybody and will show up on th e”explore” section. Users are also given AR functionality, which can be accessed from the ”effects” tab.

Just like TikTok, others may be allowed to use your audio to create similar videos. This option is called “Use Audio”.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/us-looking-at-banning-chinese-social-media-apps-including-tiktok-pompeo-311273">US looking at banning Chinese social media apps, including TikTok</a>

A Facebook spokesperson described Reels as a “fun, creative way for people to both express themselves and be entertained”.

Empty space

TikTok, along with 58 other Chinese apps was recently banned in India to protect the country’s “sovereignty” and “security”, a government release said. Many local apps have spurred up in the void left behind by TikTok. Zee recently announced HiPi, an app based on the same model

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/tiktok-ban-chingari-app-crosses-10-million-downloads-on-play-store-310467">India bans 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, Shareit citing national security</a>

This marks the first release by a mega-corporation trying to cash in on the ban enforced by India in the wake of anti-China sentiment in the country. Instagram could further capitalise on this globally if the world follows India’s suit. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently announced that they are reviewing the app and may ban it if proven to be a security threat.

An Australian senator also recently referred to TikTok as a data theft app which provides data to the Chinese government. Reels was first launched in Brazil, and was recently released in France and Germany.

Instagram on Wednesday launched its new video-music feature called Reels in India. On first usage, it feels a lot like TikTok and offers similar functionalities, and can be accessed by swiping right on the home screen, similar to adding "stories".

Instagram on Wednesday launched its new video-music feature called Reels in India. On first usage, it feels a lot like TikTok and offers similar functionalities, and can be accessed by swiping right on the home screen, similar to adding "stories". The app will allow users to create videos with popular songs, but with a cap of 15 seconds on it. According to Instagram, this restriction is owing to the realisation that 45 per cent of clips on Instagram are indeed 15 seconds or lesser in length. Do it all! People can shoot videos, add filters, and music from Instagram, and will be able to share clips beyond the platform, just like TikTok. Reels is embedded into the Instagram app, where one can access it from the tab where the Boomerang feature and others are located. You can also manage the speed, effects, and timer corresponding to your clips. Also read: Chinese apps banned: Instagram set to launch TikTok rival 'Reels' in India Additionally, Reels may be shared with anybody and will show up on th e”explore” section. Users are also given AR functionality, which can be accessed from the ”effects” tab. Just like TikTok, others may be allowed to use your audio to create similar videos. This option is called “Use Audio”. Also read: US looking at banning Chinese social media apps, including TikTok A Facebook spokesperson described Reels as a “fun, creative way for people to both express themselves and be entertained”. Empty space TikTok, along with 58 other Chinese apps was recently banned in India to protect the country’s “sovereignty” and “security”, a government release said. Many local apps have spurred up in the void left behind by TikTok. Zee recently announced HiPi, an app based on the same model Also read: India bans 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, Shareit citing national security This marks the first release by a mega-corporation trying to cash in on the ban enforced by India in the wake of anti-China sentiment in the country. Instagram could further capitalise on this globally if the world follows India’s suit. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo recently announced that they are reviewing the app and may ban it if proven to be a security threat. An Australian senator also recently referred to TikTok as a data theft app which provides data to the Chinese government. Reels was first launched in Brazil, and was recently released in France and Germany.

Instagram unveils 'Reels' in India to woo TikTokers after app ban

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said late on Monday that the United States is "certainly looking at" banning Chinese social media apps, including TikTok.

"I don't want to get out in front of the President (Donald Trump), but it's something we're looking at," Pompeo said in an interview with Fox News.&nbsp;

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said late on Monday that the United States is "certainly looking at" banning Chinese social media apps, including TikTok. "I don't want to get out in front of the President (Donald Trump), but it's something we're looking at," Pompeo said in an interview with Fox News.

US looking at banning Chinese social media apps, including TikTok: Pompeo

China has unveiled new powers to censor Hong Kong's internet and access user data using its feared national security law. Tech giants Google, Facebook, and Twitter have suspended processing government requests for user data in Hong Kong due to China’s new national security law.

WION Dispatch: Push back against Security Law | Tech giants resist sharing users

Millions of Indians have joined homegrown social media platforms since New Delhi banned a slew of Chinese apps, including TikTok, amid growing tensions between the giant neighbours, industry officials said Thursday.

The ban comes as India steps up economic pressure on China following a border battle last month in which 20 Indian soldiers died.

The 59 banned apps include video-sharing giant TikTok, Helo and Likee, with authorities accusing them of activities "prejudicial" to the "sovereignty and integrity of India".

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has a huge social media profile, threw his weight behind the campaign by closing his account on China's Weibo platform on Wednesday.

His photograph and 115 posts made over the past five years were deleted at the request of Indian authorities, the Chinese company said.

India's 1.3 billion population is a key market for global internet players and homegrown app platforms Sharechat and Roposo said they had seen a huge surge in new users since Monday's ban on their Chinese rivals.

Sharechat said in a statement that its video platform had clocked 15 million new downloads -- sometimes at a rate of half-a-million every 30 minutes -- in the 48 hours following the ban.

It now has at least 150 million registered users, it said.

"We welcome the move from the government against platforms that have had serious privacy, cyber-security and national security risks," Berges Malu, public policy director for ShareChat, told AFP.

BAND BRINGS TECH BOOST

"We believe this move will help create a level playing field (for Indian platforms)," Malu added.&nbsp;

Some 10 million new subscribers have joined the Roposo video app, Naveen Tewari, chief executive of owners InMobi, told AFP, bringing its user base to 75 million.

An estimated 120 million Indians were TikTok users before the ban.

Tewari said the app ban would give local platforms the chance to become the world's fourth major tech hub alongside the United States, Russia and China.

"Such opportunities don't come easily," he added.

The Indian industry has long been pressing for action against Chinese apps which dominate the market, with Sharechat and Inmobi calling for the platforms to follow Indian laws and values. &nbsp;

There are also fears foreign apps could influence domestic affairs in areas such as politics.

"Deep penetration of Chinese platforms in an open democracy like India makes its future election processes vulnerable to outside interference and manipulation," said one senior New Delhi-based digital industry analyst, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Observers say retaining the new followers will be the main challenge for the Indian upstarts, which will now have to invest in staff and content to keep audiences.

Arvind Gupta, founder and head of the DigitalIndia Foundation, told AFP that Indian firms also had to answer "the strategic concerns around privacy and data security" while taking advantage of the exit of TikTok and other rivals.

"This vacuum also makes India's digital landscape much more attractive for investment... from other democratic and open societies," said Gupta, a former technology head for India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.&nbsp;

Millions of Indians have joined homegrown social media platforms since New Delhi banned a slew of Chinese apps, including TikTok, amid growing tensions between the giant neighbours, industry officials said Thursday.

Millions of Indians have joined homegrown social media platforms since New Delhi banned a slew of Chinese apps, including TikTok, amid growing tensions between the giant neighbours, industry officials said Thursday. The ban comes as India steps up economic pressure on China following a border battle last month in which 20 Indian soldiers died. The 59 banned apps include video-sharing giant TikTok, Helo and Likee, with authorities accusing them of activities "prejudicial" to the "sovereignty and integrity of India". Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has a huge social media profile, threw his weight behind the campaign by closing his account on China's Weibo platform on Wednesday. His photograph and 115 posts made over the past five years were deleted at the request of Indian authorities, the Chinese company said. India's 1.3 billion population is a key market for global internet players and homegrown app platforms Sharechat and Roposo said they had seen a huge surge in new users since Monday's ban on their Chinese rivals. Sharechat said in a statement that its video platform had clocked 15 million new downloads -- sometimes at a rate of half-a-million every 30 minutes -- in the 48 hours following the ban. It now has at least 150 million registered users, it said. "We welcome the move from the government against platforms that have had serious privacy, cyber-security and national security risks," Berges Malu, public policy director for ShareChat, told AFP. BAND BRINGS TECH BOOST "We believe this move will help create a level playing field (for Indian platforms)," Malu added. Some 10 million new subscribers have joined the Roposo video app, Naveen Tewari, chief executive of owners InMobi, told AFP, bringing its user base to 75 million. An estimated 120 million Indians were TikTok users before the ban. Tewari said the app ban would give local platforms the chance to become the world's fourth major tech hub alongside the United States, Russia and China. "Such opportunities don't come easily," he added. The Indian industry has long been pressing for action against Chinese apps which dominate the market, with Sharechat and Inmobi calling for the platforms to follow Indian laws and values. There are also fears foreign apps could influence domestic affairs in areas such as politics. "Deep penetration of Chinese platforms in an open democracy like India makes its future election processes vulnerable to outside interference and manipulation," said one senior New Delhi-based digital industry analyst, speaking on condition of anonymity. Observers say retaining the new followers will be the main challenge for the Indian upstarts, which will now have to invest in staff and content to keep audiences. Arvind Gupta, founder and head of the DigitalIndia Foundation, told AFP that Indian firms also had to answer "the strategic concerns around privacy and data security" while taking advantage of the exit of TikTok and other rivals. "This vacuum also makes India's digital landscape much more attractive for investment... from other democratic and open societies," said Gupta, a former technology head for India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

Millions switch to 'local TikToks' after India bans Chinese apps

Chingari app, a desi alternative to Chinese TikTok, on Friday said it has crossed 10 million downloads on Google Play Store.

The app, founded by Bengaluru-based programmers Biswatma Nayak and Siddharth Gautam last year, allows users to download and upload videos, chat with friends, interact with new people, share content and browse through the feed.&nbsp;

The app is available in multiple languages including English, Hindi, Bangla, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Punjabi, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu. 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/india-bans-59-chinese-apps-including-tiktok-shareit-uc-browser-citing-national-security-309464">Also Read: India bans 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, Shareit citing national security</a>

In the midst of ongoing tension at Sino-Indian border after a standoff with Chinese forces along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, the government of India on Monday took an unprecedented step and decided to ban at least 59 Chinese apps.

"This move will safeguard the interests of crores of Indian mobile and internet users. This decision is a targeted move to ensure safety and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace," announced the Ministry of Electronics and IT. 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/opinions-blogs/why-tiktok-is-a-threat-to-national-security-if-left-unchecked-300976">Also Read: Why TikTok is a threat to national security</a>

The apps which were banned included UC Browser, Tik Tok, SHAREit, Baidu map, Shein, clash of Kings, DU battery saver, Helo, Likee, YouCam makeup, Mi Community, CM Browsers, Virus Cleaner, Apus Browser among others. 
 
TikTok, a short video sharing app by Chinese firm ByteDance, had 200 million users in India.

On Tuesday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that it was strongly concerned over India's move banning 59 Chinese apps. 
 
(With inputs from agencies)

Chingari app, a desi alternative to Chinese TikTok, on Friday said it has crossed 10 million downloads on Google Play Store. The app, founded by Bengaluru-based programmers Biswatma Nayak and Siddharth Gautam last year, allows users to download and upload videos, chat with friends, interact with new people, share content and browse through the feed.

Chingari app, a desi alternative to Chinese TikTok, on Friday said it has crossed 10 million downloads on Google Play Store. The app, founded by Bengaluru-based programmers Biswatma Nayak and Siddharth Gautam last year, allows users to download and upload videos, chat with friends, interact with new people, share content and browse through the feed. The app is available in multiple languages including English, Hindi, Bangla, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Punjabi, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu. Also Read: India bans 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, Shareit citing national security In the midst of ongoing tension at Sino-Indian border after a standoff with Chinese forces along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, the government of India on Monday took an unprecedented step and decided to ban at least 59 Chinese apps. "This move will safeguard the interests of crores of Indian mobile and internet users. This decision is a targeted move to ensure safety and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace," announced the Ministry of Electronics and IT. Also Read: Why TikTok is a threat to national security The apps which were banned included UC Browser, Tik Tok, SHAREit, Baidu map, Shein, clash of Kings, DU battery saver, Helo, Likee, YouCam makeup, Mi Community, CM Browsers, Virus Cleaner, Apus Browser among others. TikTok, a short video sharing app by Chinese firm ByteDance, had 200 million users in India. On Tuesday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that it was strongly concerned over India's move banning 59 Chinese apps. (With inputs from agencies)

TikTok ban: Chingari app crosses 10 million downloads on Play Store

Days after India banned 59 Chinese apps for engaging in activities which are "prejudicial" to the sovereignty and integrity of the country, Beijing on Thursday urged New Delhi to immediately "correct its discriminatory practices" against Chinese companies.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/china-blocks-access-to-wion-website-after-india-bans-59-chinese-apps-310271" hreflang="en">China blocks access to WION website after India bans 59 Chinese apps</a>

India on Monday banned 59 apps with Chinese links, including the hugely popular TikTok and UC Browser, for engaging in "activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order".

The ban also comes in the backdrop of the current stand-off along the Line of Actual control in eastern Ladakh with Chinese troops.

Responding to reports that both countries are strengthening import regulations and suppressing each other's export goods amid the tense border situation and its impact on China's foreign trade enterprises exports to India, Chinese Commerce Ministry Spokesman Gao Feng said that China has not taken any restrictive measures against Indian products and services.

"First of all, I want to clarify that China has not taken any restrictive and discriminatory measures against Indian products and services,"&nbsp;he said, according to the transcript posted on the ministry's website.

"India's relevant practices violate relevant World Trade Organization rules," Gao said.

The spokesman also expressed hope that "India would immediately correct the discriminatory practices against China and Chinese enterprises."

Announcing its decision to ban 59 apps in view of 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", India's Information Technology Ministry said the move will "safeguard the interests of crores of Indian mobile and internet users. This decision is a targeted move to ensure safety and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace."

The IT ministry statement also said that it 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 unauthorised manner to servers which have locations outside India".

"The success of China-India economic and trade cooperation is the result of the joint efforts of the governments and enterprises of the two sides and serves the fundamental interests of the two people?, he said.

Gao said, "China attaches great importance to strengthening practical cooperation with India in all fields and hopes that the two sides will meet each other halfway, earnestly implement the economic and trade consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries."

He said the two sides should promote the sound and stable development of bilateral economic and trade cooperation and make efforts for the common prosperity of the two countries and the region at large.

On Tuesday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that it was ?strongly concerned? over India's move banning 59 Chinese apps.

Days after India banned 59 Chinese apps for engaging in activities which are "prejudicial" to the sovereignty and integrity of the country, Beijing on Thursday urged New Delhi to immediately "correct its discriminatory practices" against Chinese companies.

Days after India banned 59 Chinese apps for engaging in activities which are "prejudicial" to the sovereignty and integrity of the country, Beijing on Thursday urged New Delhi to immediately "correct its discriminatory practices" against Chinese companies. Also read: China blocks access to WION website after India bans 59 Chinese apps India on Monday banned 59 apps with Chinese links, including the hugely popular TikTok and UC Browser, for engaging in "activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order". The ban also comes in the backdrop of the current stand-off along the Line of Actual control in eastern Ladakh with Chinese troops. Responding to reports that both countries are strengthening import regulations and suppressing each other's export goods amid the tense border situation and its impact on China's foreign trade enterprises exports to India, Chinese Commerce Ministry Spokesman Gao Feng said that China has not taken any restrictive measures against Indian products and services. "First of all, I want to clarify that China has not taken any restrictive and discriminatory measures against Indian products and services," he said, according to the transcript posted on the ministry's website. "India's relevant practices violate relevant World Trade Organization rules," Gao said. The spokesman also expressed hope that "India would immediately correct the discriminatory practices against China and Chinese enterprises." Announcing its decision to ban 59 apps in view of 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", India's Information Technology Ministry said the move will "safeguard the interests of crores of Indian mobile and internet users. This decision is a targeted move to ensure safety and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace." The IT ministry statement also said that it 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 unauthorised manner to servers which have locations outside India". "The success of China-India economic and trade cooperation is the result of the joint efforts of the governments and enterprises of the two sides and serves the fundamental interests of the two people?, he said. Gao said, "China attaches great importance to strengthening practical cooperation with India in all fields and hopes that the two sides will meet each other halfway, earnestly implement the economic and trade consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries." He said the two sides should promote the sound and stable development of bilateral economic and trade cooperation and make efforts for the common prosperity of the two countries and the region at large. On Tuesday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that it was ?strongly concerned? over India's move banning 59 Chinese apps.

China urges India to 'correct discriminatory practices' against its firms after ban on Chinese apps

Three days ago, the Indian government blocked 59 Chinese apps to ensure safety and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace.

The decision was taken in the wake of a 'violent faceoff' between the Indian Army and Chinese forces along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh. 
&nbsp; 
In retaliation, Beijing has blocked access to&nbsp;the WION&nbsp;website - www.wionews.com - in mainland China.&nbsp;

GreatFire.org, which is a Chinese internet monitoring watchdog, has confirmed that WION has been completely blocked in China. 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/chinese-state-backed-global-times-calls-on-wion-to-think-independently-we-respond-303036">Also Read: Chinese state-backed Global Times calls on WION to 'think independently'; We respond!</a>

GreatFire.org has emerged as a database for internet censorship in China and international news outlets and researchers use it to track digital censorship there.

Since the beginning of coronavirus pandemic, WION has reported extensively on China's cover-up, and hence, Beijing expressed its displeasure over this in more ways than one. 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/china-is-exposed-thanks-to-global-times-editor-308876">Also Read: China is exposed. Thanks to Global Times editor</a>

In March, the spokesperson of the Chinese foreign ministry,- Zhao Lijian, blocked WION on the social networking site Twitter. Chinese diplomats in India too criticised WION's coverage of the pandemic.

In June, a piece in the Global Times named WION, asking the channel to "think independently." The publication is perceived as the lifeline of Beijing’s propaganda machinery.

It's no secret that China doesn't like the idea of a free press and the ban on WION is part of the same strategy of press censorship.

&nbsp;

Three days ago, the Indian government blocked 59 Chinese apps to ensure safety and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace. The decision was taken in the wake of a 'violent faceoff' between the Indian Army and Chinese forces along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh.

Three days ago, the Indian government blocked 59 Chinese apps to ensure safety and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace. The decision was taken in the wake of a 'violent faceoff' between the Indian Army and Chinese forces along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh. In retaliation, Beijing has blocked access to the WION website - www.wionews.com - in mainland China. GreatFire.org, which is a Chinese internet monitoring watchdog, has confirmed that WION has been completely blocked in China. Also Read: Chinese state-backed Global Times calls on WION to 'think independently'; We respond! GreatFire.org has emerged as a database for internet censorship in China and international news outlets and researchers use it to track digital censorship there. Since the beginning of coronavirus pandemic, WION has reported extensively on China's cover-up, and hence, Beijing expressed its displeasure over this in more ways than one. Also Read: China is exposed. Thanks to Global Times editor In March, the spokesperson of the Chinese foreign ministry,- Zhao Lijian, blocked WION on the social networking site Twitter. Chinese diplomats in India too criticised WION's coverage of the pandemic. In June, a piece in the Global Times named WION, asking the channel to "think independently." The publication is perceived as the lifeline of Beijing’s propaganda machinery. It's no secret that China doesn't like the idea of a free press and the ban on WION is part of the same strategy of press censorship.

China blocks access to WION website after India bans 59 Chinese apps

The Indian government decided to ban 59 Chinese apps including TikTok. Australian cricketer, David Warner is extremely fond of the app and has been treating his Indian fans by dancing and enacting on the famous Bollywood and Tollywood songs and dialogues.

But due to the ban, his content will not be visible to his Indian fan base, to which Indian spinner Ravi Ashwin took a dig at the Aussie.&nbsp;

Ashwin took to Twitter and wrote, “Appo Anwar @davidwarner31,” in Tamil it means what David Warner is going to do now?

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Appo Anwar? <a href="https://twitter.com/davidwarner31?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@davidwarner31</a> 😉 <a href="https://t.co/5slRjpmAIs">https://t.co/5slRjpmAIs</a>
— Ashwin (During Covid 19)🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) <a href="https://twitter.com/ashwinravi99/status/1277628247950286850?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 29, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

This did not go down well with a particular Indian fan and commented on the spinners upbringing. He wrote, "You were not raised properly".&nbsp;

Ashwin replied to the fan calling it light-hearted banter. He tweeted: “It’s a light hearted banter in Tamil. Can be so easily missed due to context and language barrier. I appreciate you being a @davidwarner31 fan, my respect for him is still intact. Tc.”

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
It’s a light hearted banter in Tamil. Can be so easily missed due to context and language barrier. I appreciate you being a <a href="https://twitter.com/davidwarner31?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@davidwarner31</a> fan, my respect for him is still intact. Tc
— Ashwin (During Covid 19)🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) <a href="https://twitter.com/ashwinravi99/status/1277835825816801281?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 30, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

The Indian government had on Monday banned 59 Chinese apps amid the India-China standoff at Galwan Valley.

Other than TikTok, the apps which were banned included UC Browser, SHAREit, Baidu map, Shein, clash of Kings, DU battery saver, Helo, Likee, YouCam makeup, Mi Community, CM Browsers, Virus Cleaner, Apus Browser and many more.

The Indian government decided to ban 59 Chinese apps including TikTok. Australian cricketer, David Warner is extremely fond of the app and has been treating his Indian fans by dancing and enacting on the famous Bollywood and Tollywood songs and dialogues.

The Indian government decided to ban 59 Chinese apps including TikTok. Australian cricketer, David Warner is extremely fond of the app and has been treating his Indian fans by dancing and enacting on the famous Bollywood and Tollywood songs and dialogues. But due to the ban, his content will not be visible to his Indian fan base, to which Indian spinner Ravi Ashwin took a dig at the Aussie. Ashwin took to Twitter and wrote, “Appo Anwar @davidwarner31,” in Tamil it means what David Warner is going to do now? Appo Anwar? @davidwarner31 😉 https://t.co/5slRjpmAIs — Ashwin (During Covid 19)🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) June 29, 2020 × This did not go down well with a particular Indian fan and commented on the spinners upbringing. He wrote, "You were not raised properly". Ashwin replied to the fan calling it light-hearted banter. He tweeted: “It’s a light hearted banter in Tamil. Can be so easily missed due to context and language barrier. I appreciate you being a @davidwarner31 fan, my respect for him is still intact. Tc.” It’s a light hearted banter in Tamil. Can be so easily missed due to context and language barrier. I appreciate you being a @davidwarner31 fan, my respect for him is still intact. Tc — Ashwin (During Covid 19)🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) June 30, 2020 × The Indian government had on Monday banned 59 Chinese apps amid the India-China standoff at Galwan Valley. Other than TikTok, the apps which were banned included UC Browser, SHAREit, Baidu map, Shein, clash of Kings, DU battery saver, Helo, Likee, YouCam makeup, Mi Community, CM Browsers, Virus Cleaner, Apus Browser and many more.

Ravi Ashwin takes 'light hearted' dig at David Warner after TikTok gets banned

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday applauded India's sweeping ban on Chinese apps including TikTok, saying New Delhi was ensuring its own security.

"We welcome India's ban on certain mobile apps that can serve as appendages of the CCP surveillance state," Pompeo said, referring to the Chinese Communist Party.

"India's clean app approach will boost India's sovereignty and will also boost India's integrity and national security, as the Indian government cell itself has stated," he said.

India had been the top international market for TikTok, the blockbuster Chinese app popular with young people that lets users upload and share short videos.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government on Monday banned 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, WeChat and Weibo as relations deteriorate in the wake of a brutal border clash.

India's ministry of information technology said the apps "are engaged in activities... prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order."

The head of TikTok India denied charges that the company shared any information from its users with a foreign government, including China.

Pompeo has been on a campaign, with limited success, to dissuade other nations from embracing Chinese telecom giant Huawei, a leader in fifth-generation internet technology.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday applauded India's sweeping ban on Chinese apps including TikTok, saying New Delhi was ensuring its own security. "We welcome India's ban on certain mobile apps that can serve as appendages of the CCP surveillance state," Pompeo said, referring to the Chinese Communist Party.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday applauded India's sweeping ban on Chinese apps including TikTok, saying New Delhi was ensuring its own security. "We welcome India's ban on certain mobile apps that can serve as appendages of the CCP surveillance state," Pompeo said, referring to the Chinese Communist Party. "India's clean app approach will boost India's sovereignty and will also boost India's integrity and national security, as the Indian government cell itself has stated," he said. India had been the top international market for TikTok, the blockbuster Chinese app popular with young people that lets users upload and share short videos. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government on Monday banned 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, WeChat and Weibo as relations deteriorate in the wake of a brutal border clash. India's ministry of information technology said the apps "are engaged in activities... prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order." The head of TikTok India denied charges that the company shared any information from its users with a foreign government, including China. Pompeo has been on a campaign, with limited success, to dissuade other nations from embracing Chinese telecom giant Huawei, a leader in fifth-generation internet technology.

Pompeo welcomes India's ban on Chinese apps including TikTok

Chinese state-backed media outlet The Global Times has said that the loss of Chinese internet company ByteDance (mother company of Tik Tok) could be as high as $6 billion after the Indian government banned 59 Chinese apps.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/tiktok-banned-all-you-need-to-know-about-its-indian-rival-chingari-app-309680">TikTok banned: All you need to know about its Indian rival Chingari app</a> 
 
On it’s official Twitter handle The Global Times posted that "The loss of Chinese internet company ByteDance – the mother company of Tik Tok — could be as high as $6 billion after the Indian government banned 59 Chinese apps including Tik Tok, following deadly border clash between Indian and Chinese troops last month."

<img alt="TikTok" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="bbbb34dd-a114-4d0d-9a0f-5636a8b71d53" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/tiktok.JPG" />

The Indian government had on Monday banned 59 Chinese apps amid the India-China standoff at Galwan Valley.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/india-bans-59-chinese-apps-including-tiktok-shareit-uc-browser-citing-national-security-309464">Also read: India bans 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, Shareit, UC Browser citing national security</a>

"This move will safeguard the interests of crores of Indian mobile and internet users. This decision is a targeted move to ensure safety and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace," India's ministry of electronics and IT had said.

The apps which were banned included UC Browser, Tik Tok, SHAREit, Baidu map, Shein, clash of Kings, DU battery saver, Helo, Likee, YouCam makeup, Mi Community, CM Browsers, Virus Cleaner, Apus Browser among others.

Meanwhile, Tik Tok which has a huge following in India said: "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."

(With inputs from agencies)

Chinese state-backed media outlet The Global Times has said that the loss of Chinese internet company ByteDance (mother company of Tik Tok) could be as high as $6 billion after the Indian government banned 59 Chinese apps.

Chinese state-backed media outlet The Global Times has said that the loss of Chinese internet company ByteDance (mother company of Tik Tok) could be as high as $6 billion after the Indian government banned 59 Chinese apps. TikTok banned: All you need to know about its Indian rival Chingari app On it’s official Twitter handle The Global Times posted that "The loss of Chinese internet company ByteDance – the mother company of Tik Tok — could be as high as $6 billion after the Indian government banned 59 Chinese apps including Tik Tok, following deadly border clash between Indian and Chinese troops last month." The Indian government had on Monday banned 59 Chinese apps amid the India-China standoff at Galwan Valley. Also read: India bans 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, Shareit, UC Browser citing national security "This move will safeguard the interests of crores of Indian mobile and internet users. This decision is a targeted move to ensure safety and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace," India's ministry of electronics and IT had said. The apps which were banned included UC Browser, Tik Tok, SHAREit, Baidu map, Shein, clash of Kings, DU battery saver, Helo, Likee, YouCam makeup, Mi Community, CM Browsers, Virus Cleaner, Apus Browser among others. Meanwhile, Tik Tok which has a huge following in India said: "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." (With inputs from agencies)

With India's TikTok ban, Chinese parent company ByteDance could lose up to $6 billion

In the midst of ongoing tension at Sino-Indian border after a standoff with Chinese forces along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, the Govt of India on Monday took an unprecedented step and decided to ban at least 59 Chinese apps.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/immediately-remove-52-chinese-apps-from-your-phone-orders-uttar-pradesh-stf-to-employees-307101">Also read: Immediately remove 52 Chinese apps from your phone, orders Uttar Pradesh STF to employees</a> 
 
"This move will safeguard the interests of crores of Indian mobile and internet users. This decision is a targeted move to ensure safety and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace," announced Ministry of Electronics and IT on Monday.

"The Ministry of Information Technology, invoking it’s power under section 69A of the Information Technology Act read with the relevant provisions of the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking of Access of Information by Public) Rules 2009 and in view of the emergent nature of threats has decided to block 59 apps since in view of the information available they are engaged in activities which is prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, the security of the state and public order," the press release issued by govt said.

Among the apps that have banned are Tik Tok, SHarit, Kwai, UC Browser, Baidu map, Shein, clash of Kings, DU battery saver, Helo, Likee, YouCam makeup, Mi Community, CM Browsers, Virus Cleaner, Apus Browser, among others. 
 
List of Chinese apps that are now blocked in India 
 
<img alt="Chinese apps" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="36bf7ffe-17bc-4d6c-9ec8-27da975ff41f" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/chinese%20app.jpg" />According to reports, on June 17, Indian intelligence agencies reportedly asked the Narendra Modi government to block or issue advisories against the use of over 50&nbsp;mobile apps that are linked to China. The agencies are concerned that these apps extract huge amounts of data from Indian users, and aren’t safe to use.

Some popular Chinese apps like Tik Tok, SHarit, Kwai, UC Browser have already shown a dip in download after the cross border tension.

The Indian app economy is valuable to China with more than 800 million smartphone users eager and willing to lap up content on their devices. 
 
(With inputs from agencies)

In the midst of ongoing tension at Sino-Indian border after a standoff with Chinese forces along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, the Govt of India on Monday took an unprecedented step and decided to ban at least 59 Chinese apps.

In the midst of ongoing tension at Sino-Indian border after a standoff with Chinese forces along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, the Govt of India on Monday took an unprecedented step and decided to ban at least 59 Chinese apps. Also read: Immediately remove 52 Chinese apps from your phone, orders Uttar Pradesh STF to employees "This move will safeguard the interests of crores of Indian mobile and internet users. This decision is a targeted move to ensure safety and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace," announced Ministry of Electronics and IT on Monday. "The Ministry of Information Technology, invoking it’s power under section 69A of the Information Technology Act read with the relevant provisions of the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking of Access of Information by Public) Rules 2009 and in view of the emergent nature of threats has decided to block 59 apps since in view of the information available they are engaged in activities which is prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, the security of the state and public order," the press release issued by govt said. Among the apps that have banned are Tik Tok, SHarit, Kwai, UC Browser, Baidu map, Shein, clash of Kings, DU battery saver, Helo, Likee, YouCam makeup, Mi Community, CM Browsers, Virus Cleaner, Apus Browser, among others. List of Chinese apps that are now blocked in India According to reports, on June 17, Indian intelligence agencies reportedly asked the Narendra Modi government to block or issue advisories against the use of over 50 mobile apps that are linked to China. The agencies are concerned that these apps extract huge amounts of data from Indian users, and aren’t safe to use. Some popular Chinese apps like Tik Tok, SHarit, Kwai, UC Browser have already shown a dip in download after the cross border tension. The Indian app economy is valuable to China with more than 800 million smartphone users eager and willing to lap up content on their devices. (With inputs from agencies)

India bans 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, Shareit, UC Browser citing national security

After the Indian government decided to ban 59 Chinese apps, TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer addressed the Indian employees, saying that the company is working with stakeholders to address their concerns.&nbsp;

"TikTok continues to comply with all data privacy and security requirements under Indian law and places the highest importance on user privacy and integrity," said Kevin Mayer.

"Our employees are our biggest strength, and their well-being is our topmost priority. We have also assured more than 2,000 strong workforce that we will do everything in our power to restore the positive experiences and opportunities that they can be proud of," the TikTok CEO said. 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/india-bans-chinese-apps-what-does-the-decision-mean-for-beijing-309734">Also Read:&nbsp;India bans Chinese apps: What does the decision mean for Beijing?</a>

He further said that the company look forward to play an active role in the mainframe of Digital India.

Kevin Mayer took over as TikTok CEO in June, 2019 and the ban on the app by the Indian government is the first big challenge he faces.

Earlier on&nbsp;Tuesday, TikTok India responding&nbsp;to the ban said, "The government of India has issued an interim order for the blocking of 59 apps, including TikTok and we are in the process of complying with it. We have been invited to meet with concerned government stakeholders for an opportunity to respond and submit clarifications." 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/strongly-concerned-over-indias-ban-on-chinese-apps-china-309601">Also Read: Strongly concerned over India's ban on Chinese apps: China</a>

The Indian government had on Monday banned 59 Chinese apps amid the India-China standoff at Galwan Valley.

Other than TikTok, the apps which were banned included UC Browser, SHAREit, Baidu map, Shein, clash of Kings, DU battery saver, Helo, Likee, YouCam makeup, Mi Community, CM Browsers, Virus Cleaner, Apus Browser and many more. 
&nbsp;

After the Indian government decided to ban 59 Chinese apps, TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer addressed the Indian employees, saying that the company is working with stakeholders to address their concerns.

After the Indian government decided to ban 59 Chinese apps, TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer addressed the Indian employees, saying that the company is working with stakeholders to address their concerns. "TikTok continues to comply with all data privacy and security requirements under Indian law and places the highest importance on user privacy and integrity," said Kevin Mayer. "Our employees are our biggest strength, and their well-being is our topmost priority. We have also assured more than 2,000 strong workforce that we will do everything in our power to restore the positive experiences and opportunities that they can be proud of," the TikTok CEO said. Also Read: India bans Chinese apps: What does the decision mean for Beijing? He further said that the company look forward to play an active role in the mainframe of Digital India. Kevin Mayer took over as TikTok CEO in June, 2019 and the ban on the app by the Indian government is the first big challenge he faces. Earlier on Tuesday, TikTok India responding to the ban said, "The government of India has issued an interim order for the blocking of 59 apps, including TikTok and we are in the process of complying with it. We have been invited to meet with concerned government stakeholders for an opportunity to respond and submit clarifications." Also Read: Strongly concerned over India's ban on Chinese apps: China The Indian government had on Monday banned 59 Chinese apps amid the India-China standoff at Galwan Valley. Other than TikTok, the apps which were banned included UC Browser, SHAREit, Baidu map, Shein, clash of Kings, DU battery saver, Helo, Likee, YouCam makeup, Mi Community, CM Browsers, Virus Cleaner, Apus Browser and many more.

TikTok CEO addresses Indian employees, says your well-being is our topmost priority

In the midst of ongoing tension at Sino-Indian border after a standoff with Chinese forces along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, the government of India on Monday decided to ban at least 59 Chinese apps.

Since the government banned 59 Chinese apps over national security concerns, &nbsp;Indians have rushed to download social app Chingari, a desi alternative to Chinese TikTok. 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/technology/tiktoks-indian-alternative-chingari-app-crosses-over-3-million-downloads-309634">Also Read:&nbsp;TikTok's Indian alternative Chingari app crosses over 3 million downloads</a>

Here is all you need to know about Chingari app:&nbsp;

1. Chingari app was founded by Bengaluru-based programmers Biswatma Nayak and Siddharth Gautam in 2019

2. The app is available in multiple languages including English, Hindi, Bangla, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Punjabi, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu.

3. The app also rewards the users on the basis of how viral the video becomes.

4. The Chingari app is available for free download on both Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

5. Chingari allows users&nbsp;to download and upload videos, chat with friends, interact with new people, share content, and browse through the feed. 
 
(With inputs from agencies)

In the midst of ongoing tension at Sino-Indian border after a standoff with Chinese forces along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, the government of India on Monday decided to ban at least 59 Chinese apps.

In the midst of ongoing tension at Sino-Indian border after a standoff with Chinese forces along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, the government of India on Monday decided to ban at least 59 Chinese apps. Since the government banned 59 Chinese apps over national security concerns, Indians have rushed to download social app Chingari, a desi alternative to Chinese TikTok. Also Read: TikTok's Indian alternative Chingari app crosses over 3 million downloads Here is all you need to know about Chingari app: 1. Chingari app was founded by Bengaluru-based programmers Biswatma Nayak and Siddharth Gautam in 2019 2. The app is available in multiple languages including English, Hindi, Bangla, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Punjabi, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu. 3. The app also rewards the users on the basis of how viral the video becomes. 4. The Chingari app is available for free download on both Google Play Store and Apple App Store. 5. Chingari allows users to download and upload videos, chat with friends, interact with new people, share content, and browse through the feed. (With inputs from agencies)

TikTok banned: All you need to know about its Indian rival Chingari app

The Indian alternative to TikTok, Chingari, has crossed over 3 million downloads.&nbsp;

The app, founded by Bengaluru-based programmers Biswatma Nayak and Siddharth Gautam last year, allows users to download and upload videos, chat with friends, interact with new people, share content and browse through the feed.&nbsp;

Biswatma Nayak&nbsp;said, "In the last few days, we have witnessed a 400 per cent growth in the subscribers of the app." 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/india-bans-59-chinese-apps-including-tiktok-shareit-uc-browser-citing-national-security-309464">Also Read: India bans 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, Shareit citing national security</a>

The app also rewards the users on the basis of how viral the video becomes. Chingari app can be downloaded through Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

The app is available in multiple languages including English, Hindi, Bangla, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Punjabi, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu. 
 
<a href="https://www.wionews.com/opinions-blogs/why-tiktok-is-a-threat-to-national-security-if-left-unchecked-300976">Also Read: Why TikTok is a threat to national security</a>

In the midst of ongoing tension at Sino-Indian border after a standoff with Chinese forces along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, the government of India on Monday took an unprecedented step and decided to ban at least 59 Chinese apps. 
 
"This move will safeguard the interests of crores of Indian mobile and internet users. This decision is a targeted move to ensure safety and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace," announced Ministry of Electronics and IT. 
 
(With inputs from agencies)

The Indian alternative to TikTok, Chingari, has crossed over 3 million downloads. The app, founded by Bengaluru-based programmers Biswatma Nayak and Siddharth Gautam last year, allows users to download and upload videos, chat with friends, interact with new people, share content and browse through the feed.

The Indian alternative to TikTok, Chingari, has crossed over 3 million downloads. The app, founded by Bengaluru-based programmers Biswatma Nayak and Siddharth Gautam last year, allows users to download and upload videos, chat with friends, interact with new people, share content and browse through the feed. Biswatma Nayak said, "In the last few days, we have witnessed a 400 per cent growth in the subscribers of the app." Also Read: India bans 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, Shareit citing national security The app also rewards the users on the basis of how viral the video becomes. Chingari app can be downloaded through Google Play Store and Apple App Store. The app is available in multiple languages including English, Hindi, Bangla, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Punjabi, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu. Also Read: Why TikTok is a threat to national security In the midst of ongoing tension at Sino-Indian border after a standoff with Chinese forces along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh, the government of India on Monday took an unprecedented step and decided to ban at least 59 Chinese apps. "This move will safeguard the interests of crores of Indian mobile and internet users. This decision is a targeted move to ensure safety and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace," announced Ministry of Electronics and IT. (With inputs from agencies)

TikTok's Indian alternative Chingari app crosses over 3 million downloads

An Indian ban on dozens of Chinese apps following a border clash between the two nations has possibly derailed a $1 billion India expansion plan of China's ByteDance, while also sparking an uproar from users of its popular TikTok video app.

TikTok was removed from Google and Apple app stores in India after New Delhi said on Monday night it was among the 59 apps which it believed posed a "threat to sovereignty and integrity".

The government order didn't name China, or cite the border clashes. App analytics firm Sensor Tower said all the 59 apps named were of Chinese origin, including Tencent's WeChat and Alibaba's UC Browser.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="/india-news/india-bans-59-chinese-apps-including-tiktok-shareit-uc-browser-citing-national-security-309464" hreflang="en">India bans 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, Shareit, UC Browser citing national security</a>

"If this is not rolled back, these companies would be constrained to cut back their operations in India, potentially resulting in a loss of employment," said a lawyer who advises a Chinese company whose app has been banned in India.&nbsp;

China's foreign ministry said it was "strongly concerned" about India's decision, adding that India had a "responsibility to uphold the legitimate legal rights of investors including the Chinese companies."

The biggest casualty of the move appears to be ByteDance, which has since last year hired several senior executives and laid out plans to invest $1 billion in India. India is TikTok's top growth market and accounts for 30% of its 2 billion downloads worldwide.

TikTok said in a statement the Indian government had invited the company to respond to the ban and submit clarifications, adding that it complies with all data security and privacy requirements.

It did not comment on the fate of its expansion plan.

'HOW WILL I LIVE NOW'

Following the ban order, many TikTok users posted videos expressing their displeasure with the ban.

One user @omkarsharma988 posted a video in which he throws utensils to the ground, hits a chair and weeps, with a Hindi song playing "You've left me, how will I live now?" The video had been liked 218,000 times, as the app still functions on phones on which it is already downloaded.

When TikTok was banned briefly last year after a state court said the app encouraged pornography, the company told the Supreme Court the ban cost it roughly $15 million a month.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="/world/tiktok-grandma-who-played-major-role-in-sabotaging-trumps-rally-joins-bidens-campaign-308992" hreflang="en">'TikTok grandma' who played major role in sabotaging Trump's rally joins Biden's campaign</a>

Several Indian lawyers said chances of a success through a legal challenge this time were slim given the government had invoked national security concerns, meaning the Chinese companies can only hope to lobby India to reverse the decision.

"From a legal perspective it (the ban) is sound because grounds like national security are difficult to challenge," said Santosh Pai of Link Legal, which advises Chinese companies.

The ban has also left Tencent disappointed, which has apps on the market and is also a major investor in Indian startups, two sources aware of the company's concerns told Reuters. New Delhi in April mandated screening of incoming investments from countries like China, hitting the likes of Tencent.

While its WeChat messaging app is not that popular in India, the company fears the government could impose a ban later on the mobile version of its blockbuster game PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, said one of the sources. Tencent declined to comment.

Two games of China-based firms, "Mobile Legends" and "Clash of Kings", were among those banned on Monday.

Sensor Tower said the 59 banned apps recorded roughly 4.9 billion downloads in India since January 2014.

An Indian ban on dozens of Chinese apps following a border clash between the two nations has possibly derailed a $1 billion India expansion plan of China's ByteDance, while also sparking an uproar from users of its popular TikTok video app.

An Indian ban on dozens of Chinese apps following a border clash between the two nations has possibly derailed a $1 billion India expansion plan of China's ByteDance, while also sparking an uproar from users of its popular TikTok video app. TikTok was removed from Google and Apple app stores in India after New Delhi said on Monday night it was among the 59 apps which it believed posed a "threat to sovereignty and integrity". The government order didn't name China, or cite the border clashes. App analytics firm Sensor Tower said all the 59 apps named were of Chinese origin, including Tencent's WeChat and Alibaba's UC Browser. Also read: India bans 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, Shareit, UC Browser citing national security "If this is not rolled back, these companies would be constrained to cut back their operations in India, potentially resulting in a loss of employment," said a lawyer who advises a Chinese company whose app has been banned in India. China's foreign ministry said it was "strongly concerned" about India's decision, adding that India had a "responsibility to uphold the legitimate legal rights of investors including the Chinese companies." The biggest casualty of the move appears to be ByteDance, which has since last year hired several senior executives and laid out plans to invest $1 billion in India. India is TikTok's top growth market and accounts for 30% of its 2 billion downloads worldwide. TikTok said in a statement the Indian government had invited the company to respond to the ban and submit clarifications, adding that it complies with all data security and privacy requirements. It did not comment on the fate of its expansion plan. 'HOW WILL I LIVE NOW' Following the ban order, many TikTok users posted videos expressing their displeasure with the ban. One user @omkarsharma988 posted a video in which he throws utensils to the ground, hits a chair and weeps, with a Hindi song playing "You've left me, how will I live now?" The video had been liked 218,000 times, as the app still functions on phones on which it is already downloaded. When TikTok was banned briefly last year after a state court said the app encouraged pornography, the company told the Supreme Court the ban cost it roughly $15 million a month. Also read: 'TikTok grandma' who played major role in sabotaging Trump's rally joins Biden's campaign Several Indian lawyers said chances of a success through a legal challenge this time were slim given the government had invoked national security concerns, meaning the Chinese companies can only hope to lobby India to reverse the decision. "From a legal perspective it (the ban) is sound because grounds like national security are difficult to challenge," said Santosh Pai of Link Legal, which advises Chinese companies. The ban has also left Tencent disappointed, which has apps on the market and is also a major investor in Indian startups, two sources aware of the company's concerns told Reuters. New Delhi in April mandated screening of incoming investments from countries like China, hitting the likes of Tencent. While its WeChat messaging app is not that popular in India, the company fears the government could impose a ban later on the mobile version of its blockbuster game PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, said one of the sources. Tencent declined to comment. Two games of China-based firms, "Mobile Legends" and "Clash of Kings", were among those banned on Monday. Sensor Tower said the 59 banned apps recorded roughly 4.9 billion downloads in India since January 2014.

India's Chinese app ban seen jolting $1 billion expansion of ByteDance

Mary Jo Laupp, who is also known as 'TikTok Grandma' for turning Trump's Tulsa rally into a fiasco has been hired by a grassroots organization campaigning for the election of Democrats candidate Joe Biden.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/k-pop-fans-and-tiktok-users-played-trump-hundreds-of-seats-remain-empty-in-tulsa-rally-307532">K-Pop fans and TikTok users played Trump; hundreds of seats remain empty in Tulsa rally</a>

The 51-year-old used TikTok to ask anti-Trump campaigners to book the free seats of the rally in Tulsa in Oklahoma last week. The information spread like wildfire, and more and more people joined in on this 'practical prank'.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@maryjolaupp/video/6837311838640803078" class="tiktok-embed" data-video-id="6837311838640803078" style="max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px;">
<section><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@maryjolaupp" target="_blank" title="@maryjolaupp">@maryjolaupp</a>

Did you know you can make sure there are empty seats at Trump’s rally? <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/blm" target="_blank" title="blm">##BLM</a>.
<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-6837311813093165829" target="_blank" title="♬ original sound - maryjolaupp">♬ original sound - maryjolaupp</a></section>
</blockquote>
<script async src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js"></script></div>
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The massive group managed to book hundreds of tickets. When they collectively did not show up for the rally, more than hundreds of seats were left empty in the 19,200 capacity auditorium, BOK Center.

The turnout for the rally was under 6,200, which was very less than what was expected. The K-Pop fans shared information about this on TikTok and encouraged their fans to get tickets and then not show up for the rally.

Caitlin Gilbert, Biden Digital Coalition co-director, said on Friday that Laupp, a mother to four and grandmother of six, had joined her group to help with online campaigning for November's presidential race.&nbsp;

In an interview with the New York Times, Laupp said that one of her first projects would be to help build a group of pro-Biden content creators on TikTok.

Mary Jo Laupp lives in Iowa and works in the music department of a high school, She earlier participated in the unsuccessful Democratic campaign of Pete Buttigieg who is a former Indiana mayor.

Mary Jo Laupp, who is also known as 'TikTok Grandma' for turning Trump's Tulsa rally into a fiasco has been hired by a grassroots organization campaigning for the election of Democrats candidate Joe Biden.

Mary Jo Laupp, who is also known as 'TikTok Grandma' for turning Trump's Tulsa rally into a fiasco has been hired by a grassroots organization campaigning for the election of Democrats candidate Joe Biden. Also read: K-Pop fans and TikTok users played Trump; hundreds of seats remain empty in Tulsa rally The 51-year-old used TikTok to ask anti-Trump campaigners to book the free seats of the rally in Tulsa in Oklahoma last week. The information spread like wildfire, and more and more people joined in on this 'practical prank'. @maryjolaupp Did you know you can make sure there are empty seats at Trump’s rally? ##BLM. ♬ original sound - maryjolaupp × The massive group managed to book hundreds of tickets. When they collectively did not show up for the rally, more than hundreds of seats were left empty in the 19,200 capacity auditorium, BOK Center. The turnout for the rally was under 6,200, which was very less than what was expected. The K-Pop fans shared information about this on TikTok and encouraged their fans to get tickets and then not show up for the rally. Caitlin Gilbert, Biden Digital Coalition co-director, said on Friday that Laupp, a mother to four and grandmother of six, had joined her group to help with online campaigning for November's presidential race. In an interview with the New York Times, Laupp said that one of her first projects would be to help build a group of pro-Biden content creators on TikTok. Mary Jo Laupp lives in Iowa and works in the music department of a high school, She earlier participated in the unsuccessful Democratic campaign of Pete Buttigieg who is a former Indiana mayor.

'TikTok grandma' who played major role in sabotaging Trump's rally joins Biden's campaign

A spat over the correct way to brew a cup of tea has boiled over, with both the UK and US ambassadors sticking their spoons in.

There have been more severe transatlantic bust-ups over a brew, such as the&nbsp;American Revolution, but few can have been quite so twee. Nearly 250 years after the Boston Tea Party, the British ambassador in Washington and her US counterpart in London are going at it over how to make a decent hot drink. And by Wednesday evening, the conflict was spilling over into mainland Europe.

Like many tense diplomatic standoffs, it began with a deliberate provocation. An American TikTok user going by the name of Michelle from North Carolina posted a video showing how to make what she describes as “hot tea”, which entails mixing milk with powdered lemonade, cinnamon, cloves, sugar and Tang, which turns out to be a soft drink.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
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<blockquote cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@jchelle36/video/6822286603415850246" class="tiktok-embed" data-video-id="6822286603415850246" style="max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px;">
<section><a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@jchelle36" target="_blank" title="@jchelle36">@jchelle36</a>

Hot tea “this American girl” likes 😊 <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/americanintheuk" target="_blank" title="americanintheuk">##americanintheuk</a> <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fyp" target="_blank" title="fyp">##fyp</a> @nichole.caroline
<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/original-sound-6822286594125335301" target="_blank" title="♬ original sound - jchelle36">♬ original sound - jchelle36</a></section>
</blockquote>
<script async src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

As an afterthought she dunked a teabag, and then put the whole thing in the microwave. Her subsequent attempt at “British tea” involved&nbsp;cold water first. The British internet lost its marbles.

Michelle from North Carolina, who actually lives in Britain and has proven herself to be a supremely effective wind-up merchant with follow-ups including her recipe for “UK eggs”, quickly amassed 5m TikTok likes. Meanwhile, the UK’s powerful ability to get on its high horse about elevenses kicked into gear.

Also read| <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/tiktok-an-entertainment-platform-or-chinese-propaganda-company-299518">TikTok: An entertainment platform or Chinese propaganda company?</a>

It was all too much for British users, who take great pride in their homespun national drink, with its leaves imported primarily from Kenya, India and Malawi.

The twin themes in the furious outpouring of comments were “war crime” and “diabetes”.

Undeterred, Michelle followed up with a guide to “British tea”.

It was with her video this week on British eggs, using canned whipped cream, that Michelle, who lives in the UK, confirmed suspicions that she is indeed very much in on the joke.

She has amassed more than five million likes so far for her efforts.

But she has also incited righteous anger in a nation close to a boiling point, and with a lot of time on its hands.

Calling in the military

So Dame Karen Pierce, British Ambassador to the United States in Washington, called in the military.

In a video posted on Monday, she got the boys from the British Army, Navy, and Air Force to demonstrate how to prepare tea, in a manner both patriotic and pukka.

There was even a nod to how to conduct high tea at high altitude.

Pierce had the armed forces behind her but when Woody Johnson, the US Ambassador to the United Kingdom got involved on Wednesday, he made like Dirty Harry and went in solo.

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The perfect cup of coffee, Ambassador <a href="https://twitter.com/KarenPierceUK?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KarenPierceUK</a> <a href="https://t.co/oEbSJNE2qw">https://t.co/oEbSJNE2qw</a> <a href="https://t.co/LfGE5w5Dc0">pic.twitter.com/LfGE5w5Dc0</a>
— Ambassador Johnson (@USAmbUK) <a href="https://twitter.com/USAmbUK/status/1275764884433756160?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 24, 2020</a></blockquote>
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His strategy was a smart one. He went after Britain's weakness: coffee. However,&nbsp;he makes what appears to be an absolutely terrible cup of coffee.

He commits the cardinal sin of using instant coffee, raising the hackles of any connoisseur faster than hot water dissolves a freeze-dried granule.

As people around the world have been upping their gourmet antics during lockdown, with their sourdough starters and their AeroPress cold brews, there can be just one message for Johnson. Do better.

There have no been no video responses yet from Raffaele Trombetta, Ambassador of Italy to the UK since 2018, and Armando Varricchio, Ambassador of Italy to the US for the past four years.

Nor have there been comments on TikTok tea from Liu Xiaoming, China's Ambassador to the UK, or Josephat Karanja and Gaitri I. Kumar, respectively Kenya and India's High Commissioners to the UK.

A spat over the correct way to brew a cup of tea has boiled over, with both the UK and US ambassadors sticking their spoons in. There have been more severe transatlantic bust-ups over a brew, such as the American Revolution, but few can have been quite so twee.

A spat over the correct way to brew a cup of tea has boiled over, with both the UK and US ambassadors sticking their spoons in. There have been more severe transatlantic bust-ups over a brew, such as the American Revolution, but few can have been quite so twee. Nearly 250 years after the Boston Tea Party, the British ambassador in Washington and her US counterpart in London are going at it over how to make a decent hot drink. And by Wednesday evening, the conflict was spilling over into mainland Europe. Like many tense diplomatic standoffs, it began with a deliberate provocation. An American TikTok user going by the name of Michelle from North Carolina posted a video showing how to make what she describes as “hot tea”, which entails mixing milk with powdered lemonade, cinnamon, cloves, sugar and Tang, which turns out to be a soft drink. @jchelle36 Hot tea “this American girl” likes 😊 ##americanintheuk ##fyp @nichole.caroline ♬ original sound - jchelle36 × As an afterthought she dunked a teabag, and then put the whole thing in the microwave. Her subsequent attempt at “British tea” involved cold water first. The British internet lost its marbles. Michelle from North Carolina, who actually lives in Britain and has proven herself to be a supremely effective wind-up merchant with follow-ups including her recipe for “UK eggs”, quickly amassed 5m TikTok likes. Meanwhile, the UK’s powerful ability to get on its high horse about elevenses kicked into gear. Also read| TikTok: An entertainment platform or Chinese propaganda company? It was all too much for British users, who take great pride in their homespun national drink, with its leaves imported primarily from Kenya, India and Malawi. The twin themes in the furious outpouring of comments were “war crime” and “diabetes”. Undeterred, Michelle followed up with a guide to “British tea”. It was with her video this week on British eggs, using canned whipped cream, that Michelle, who lives in the UK, confirmed suspicions that she is indeed very much in on the joke. She has amassed more than five million likes so far for her efforts. But she has also incited righteous anger in a nation close to a boiling point, and with a lot of time on its hands. Calling in the military So Dame Karen Pierce, British Ambassador to the United States in Washington, called in the military. In a video posted on Monday, she got the boys from the British Army, Navy, and Air Force to demonstrate how to prepare tea, in a manner both patriotic and pukka. There was even a nod to how to conduct high tea at high altitude. Pierce had the armed forces behind her but when Woody Johnson, the US Ambassador to the United Kingdom got involved on Wednesday, he made like Dirty Harry and went in solo. The perfect cup of coffee, Ambassador @KarenPierceUK https://t.co/oEbSJNE2qw pic.twitter.com/LfGE5w5Dc0 — Ambassador Johnson (@USAmbUK) June 24, 2020 × His strategy was a smart one. He went after Britain's weakness: coffee. However, he makes what appears to be an absolutely terrible cup of coffee. He commits the cardinal sin of using instant coffee, raising the hackles of any connoisseur faster than hot water dissolves a freeze-dried granule. As people around the world have been upping their gourmet antics during lockdown, with their sourdough starters and their AeroPress cold brews, there can be just one message for Johnson. Do better. There have no been no video responses yet from Raffaele Trombetta, Ambassador of Italy to the UK since 2018, and Armando Varricchio, Ambassador of Italy to the US for the past four years. Nor have there been comments on TikTok tea from Liu Xiaoming, China's Ambassador to the UK, or Josephat Karanja and Gaitri I. Kumar, respectively Kenya and India's High Commissioners to the UK.

'Military called in' after TikTok 'tea tutorial' triggers war between US and UK

Beijing-based ByteDance, the privately owned operator of short video app TikTok, booked around 40 billion yuan ($5.64 billion) in revenue for the January-March quarter, said two people with knowledge of the matter.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/now-china-halts-salmon-imports-over-possible-link-to-beijing-outbreak-306425" hreflang="en">Now, China halts salmon imports over possible link to Beijing outbreak</a>

The figure represents growth of more than 130 per cent&nbsp;compared with the same period a year earlier, said one of the people, who declined to be identified as the matter is private.

ByteDance has set a 2020 revenue target of about 200 billion yuan, the other person said. The first person said ByteDance aims to reach revenue half that of rival Tencent Holdings Ltd.

Tencent, China's leading social media and gaming firm, reported revenue of nearly 377 billion yuan in 2019.

ByteDance declined to comment.

The growth shows the extent to which eight-year-old ByteDance is capturing digital advertising spend. The bulk of the company's revenue is mainly from advertising on its apps in China including news aggregator Jinri Toutiao as well as Douyin, its domestic version of TikTok, the people said, rather than from TikTok itself.

Before ByteDance emerged, China's ad market had been mainly dominated by e-commerce leader Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, search engine operator Baidu Inc and Tencent.

The market grew 1.9% in January-March from the same period a year earlier to be worth 121.2 billion yuan, showed data from iResearch.

ByteDance's apps enjoyed a huge boost in usage at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic as containment measures saw people practicing social distancing and staying at home. In January, six of the 10 most popular apps on China's iOS App Store were owned by ByteDance, according to app performance tracker App Annie.

ByteDance has recently been valued at $95 billion to $140 billion in the market for private secondary trading, two people told Reuters.

The firm is trying to grow and monetise TikTok and last month named Walt Disney Co's former top streaming executive, Kevin Mayer, as TikTok's new chief executive.

Beijing-based ByteDance, the privately owned operator of short video app TikTok, booked around 40 billion yuan ($5.64 billion) in revenue for the January-March quarter, said two people with knowledge of the matter.

Beijing-based ByteDance, the privately owned operator of short video app TikTok, booked around 40 billion yuan ($5.64 billion) in revenue for the January-March quarter, said two people with knowledge of the matter. Also read: Now, China halts salmon imports over possible link to Beijing outbreak The figure represents growth of more than 130 per cent compared with the same period a year earlier, said one of the people, who declined to be identified as the matter is private. ByteDance has set a 2020 revenue target of about 200 billion yuan, the other person said. The first person said ByteDance aims to reach revenue half that of rival Tencent Holdings Ltd. Tencent, China's leading social media and gaming firm, reported revenue of nearly 377 billion yuan in 2019. ByteDance declined to comment. The growth shows the extent to which eight-year-old ByteDance is capturing digital advertising spend. The bulk of the company's revenue is mainly from advertising on its apps in China including news aggregator Jinri Toutiao as well as Douyin, its domestic version of TikTok, the people said, rather than from TikTok itself. Before ByteDance emerged, China's ad market had been mainly dominated by e-commerce leader Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, search engine operator Baidu Inc and Tencent. The market grew 1.9% in January-March from the same period a year earlier to be worth 121.2 billion yuan, showed data from iResearch. ByteDance's apps enjoyed a huge boost in usage at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic as containment measures saw people practicing social distancing and staying at home. In January, six of the 10 most popular apps on China's iOS App Store were owned by ByteDance, according to app performance tracker App Annie. ByteDance has recently been valued at $95 billion to $140 billion in the market for private secondary trading, two people told Reuters. The firm is trying to grow and monetise TikTok and last month named Walt Disney Co's former top streaming executive, Kevin Mayer, as TikTok's new chief executive.

TikTok owner ByteDance first-quarter revenue soared to around $5.6 billion: Sources

An EU task force has set an eye on the Chinese video app TikTok. The task force will be examining the app's practices. The bloc's privacy watchdog warned EU police forces against using facial recognition software from the American company Clearview AI.&nbsp;

The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) said that it will set up a task force to examine TikTok's activities across the bloc after a request by an EU lawmaker. The lawmaker is concerned about the application's data collection methods and security and privacy risks.

TikTok, owned by China's ByteDance, allows users to create short videos and has seen its popularity rise during the coronavirus pandemic.

Clearview AI scrapes the internet for publicly available photos and uses facial recognition to identify potential suspects, triggering criticism in Canada and the United States about potential misuse.

"The EDPB has doubts as to whether any Union or Member State law provides a legal basis for using a service such as the one offered by Clearview AI," the EDPB said.

"The EDPB is therefore of the opinion that the use of a service such as Clearview AI by law enforcement authorities in the European Union would, as it stands, likely not be consistent with the EU data protection regime," it said.

(Inputs by Reuters)

An EU task force has set an eye on the Chinese video app TikTok. The task force will be examining the app's practices. The bloc's privacy watchdog warned EU police forces against using facial recognition software from the American company Clearview AI.

An EU task force has set an eye on the Chinese video app TikTok. The task force will be examining the app's practices. The bloc's privacy watchdog warned EU police forces against using facial recognition software from the American company Clearview AI. The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) said that it will set up a task force to examine TikTok's activities across the bloc after a request by an EU lawmaker. The lawmaker is concerned about the application's data collection methods and security and privacy risks. TikTok, owned by China's ByteDance, allows users to create short videos and has seen its popularity rise during the coronavirus pandemic. Clearview AI scrapes the internet for publicly available photos and uses facial recognition to identify potential suspects, triggering criticism in Canada and the United States about potential misuse. "The EDPB has doubts as to whether any Union or Member State law provides a legal basis for using a service such as the one offered by Clearview AI," the EDPB said. "The EDPB is therefore of the opinion that the use of a service such as Clearview AI by law enforcement authorities in the European Union would, as it stands, likely not be consistent with the EU data protection regime," it said. (Inputs by Reuters)

EU watchdog sets up taskforce to examine TikTok's practices, warns on Clearview AI software

Developed and quietly released by an IIT Roorkee student 'Mitron' app has seen tremendous success on mobile platforms and has become hugely popular amongst the young Indians, it is also now no 2 android app in India.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/google-helps-tiktok-to-regain-lost-rating-removes-millions-of-negative-ratings-301120">Also read: Google helps TikTok to regain lost rating; removes millions of negative ratings</a> 
 
The short video platform made in India has a 4.7-star rating on Google Play store. This comes at a time when the popular video platform it is a copy of – TikTok has a rating of 1.4 stars, because of several factors including the fact that it is a Chinese app.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/opinions-blogs/why-tiktok-is-a-threat-to-national-security-if-left-unchecked-300976">Also read: Why TikTok is a threat to national security if left unchecked</a> 
 
Mitron app has been developed by a student of IIT Roorkee which works the same as Chinese TikTok, which is popular among the younger lots for making and posting short videos.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/ban-tiktok-trends-as-ncw-demands-removal-of-video-that-promotes-violence-against-women-299410">Also read: Ban TikTok trends as NCW demands removal of video that promotes violence against women</a>

With anti-Chinese sentiment running high even among the millennials, especially after the coronavirus pandemic, the desi Mitron is finding ready takers as it has an added appeal – the term 'Mitron', meaning friends, has often been used by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his speeches.

It is pegged as a rival to TikTok which is in the midst of an acrimonious controversy that saw its ratings come down alarmingly in the last week or so. There was even a #BanTikTok campaign on social media platforms after a video glorifying acid attack emerged on it.&nbsp;

As many as 6 million people bombarded 1-star review with negative on the Google Play Store. So much so that the ratings of the app is down to 1.3 stars from 4.5 stars.

(With inputs from agencies)

Developed and quietly released by an IIT Roorkee student 'Mitron' app has seen tremendous success on mobile platforms and has become hugely popular amongst the young Indians, it is also now no 2 android app in India.

Developed and quietly released by an IIT Roorkee student 'Mitron' app has seen tremendous success on mobile platforms and has become hugely popular amongst the young Indians, it is also now no 2 android app in India. Also read: Google helps TikTok to regain lost rating; removes millions of negative ratings The short video platform made in India has a 4.7-star rating on Google Play store. This comes at a time when the popular video platform it is a copy of – TikTok has a rating of 1.4 stars, because of several factors including the fact that it is a Chinese app. Also read: Why TikTok is a threat to national security if left unchecked Mitron app has been developed by a student of IIT Roorkee which works the same as Chinese TikTok, which is popular among the younger lots for making and posting short videos. Also read: Ban TikTok trends as NCW demands removal of video that promotes violence against women With anti-Chinese sentiment running high even among the millennials, especially after the coronavirus pandemic, the desi Mitron is finding ready takers as it has an added appeal – the term 'Mitron', meaning friends, has often been used by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his speeches. It is pegged as a rival to TikTok which is in the midst of an acrimonious controversy that saw its ratings come down alarmingly in the last week or so. There was even a #BanTikTok campaign on social media platforms after a video glorifying acid attack emerged on it. As many as 6 million people bombarded 1-star review with negative on the Google Play Store. So much so that the ratings of the app is down to 1.3 stars from 4.5 stars. (With inputs from agencies)

Indian 'Mitron' app takes on Chinese TikTok, clocks five million downloads within one month of launch

The search giant Google has gone on a damage control mode for the Chinese short video creation platform TikTok owned by ByteDance.&nbsp;

TikTok’s Google Play rating for android improved to 1.6 after nearly 5 million reviews disappeared from the app store.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/ban-tiktok-trends-as-ncw-demands-removal-of-video-that-promotes-violence-against-women-299410">Also read: Ban TikTok trends as NCW demands removal of video that promotes violence against women</a> 
 
The rating of the app that had fallen to 1.3 stars, which was 4.5 stars until May 16th.&nbsp;

According to the reports, Google helped boost TikTok’s ratings from 1.2 to 1.6 stars by deleting over 5 million reviews overnight.&nbsp;

TikTok’s user reviews had suddenly plummeted on Play Store from 27 million users to 22 million users from last week.&nbsp;

The reason behind this rating fall of TikTok is a controversy where TikTok was attacked with severe criticism. This was mainly because of the spat between Amir Siddiqui and Carry Minati.

Amir Siddiqui had posted a video on Instagram calling out YouTubers. In the video, he accused YouTubers of plagiarism. This video was then picked up by a popular roaster Ajey Nagar, popularly known as CarryMinati, who bashed Amir Siddiqui and other TikTok users. But Carry Minati’s video was deleted by YouTube and that re-ignited the fire of #BanTikTokInIndia. 
 
(With inputs from agencies)

The search giant Google has gone on a damage control mode for the Chinese short video creation platform TikTok owned by ByteDance. TikTok’s Google Play rating for android improved to 1.

The search giant Google has gone on a damage control mode for the Chinese short video creation platform TikTok owned by ByteDance. TikTok’s Google Play rating for android improved to 1.6 after nearly 5 million reviews disappeared from the app store. Also read: Ban TikTok trends as NCW demands removal of video that promotes violence against women The rating of the app that had fallen to 1.3 stars, which was 4.5 stars until May 16th. According to the reports, Google helped boost TikTok’s ratings from 1.2 to 1.6 stars by deleting over 5 million reviews overnight. TikTok’s user reviews had suddenly plummeted on Play Store from 27 million users to 22 million users from last week. The reason behind this rating fall of TikTok is a controversy where TikTok was attacked with severe criticism. This was mainly because of the spat between Amir Siddiqui and Carry Minati. Amir Siddiqui had posted a video on Instagram calling out YouTubers. In the video, he accused YouTubers of plagiarism. This video was then picked up by a popular roaster Ajey Nagar, popularly known as CarryMinati, who bashed Amir Siddiqui and other TikTok users. But Carry Minati’s video was deleted by YouTube and that re-ignited the fire of #BanTikTokInIndia. (With inputs from agencies)

Google helps TikTok to regain lost rating; removes millions of negative ratings

TikTok is facing a public relations crisis after its ratings dropped from 4.3 to 1.3 in a matter of a few days when Indian citizens took over Twitter and Youtube to highlight several problematic social media contents being circulated on the video-sharing platform ranging from animal abuse, rape, acid attack to justifying terrorism and promoting communal violence. Complaints before National Commission for Women have been filed, and letters have been written to the central government highlighting that the application is not suitable for the youth and that TikTok is deliberately not censoring content deemed against the interests of the Indian society. &nbsp;

This problem is more profound than it seems as the company behind TikTok, ByteDance has earlier been accused of censoring social media content related to Tibet, Dalai Lama and the Hongkong protests thereby acting as a mouthpiece of China Communist Party (‘CCP’). Due to the fears of espionage and data theft, US senators have moved a bill seeking to ban federal employees from using the application altogether. The connection between Chinese corporations and the Chinese Communist Party is not hidden, and it is a well-known fact that Chinese corporations do the bidding for the Chinese Communist Party overseas to advance its interests and protect its ‘Face’ by censoring content deemed unfavourable and against the ‘One China’ Policy’. &nbsp; 
 
<img alt="Tiktok" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="8d2f03f6-8a76-4093-bb94-1ea0f34da373" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Wion%20Infrographic%20TikTok.png" />&nbsp;

This incident highlights many lacunas existing in our current regulatory framework ranging from the protection of user data to the risk and susceptibility of the government officials, agencies, and corporations against data theft by China. Further, it showcases how an application can be used in future to harm national interests as a means of ‘social warfare’. Due to this, the central government needs to understand that TikTok is a national threat if left unchecked. Furthermore, this incident emphasizes the need for data localisation and data protection laws that protect data sovereignty and privacy. Data has been termed as the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ and moving forward regulating and safeguarding data is going to be one of the major challenges that regulators will face ranging from its impact on the economy, international affairs and the security of its citizens. &nbsp;

The Reserve Bank of India in 2018 had issued a directive to companies for storing financial system-related information in India in sectors ranging from insurance, healthcare to e-commerce, thereby mandating data localization in some form. Still, this does not cover or stop social media platforms per se to engage in cross-border transfer of personal data. On December 11 2019, the Personal Protection Bill 2019 was tabled before the parliament by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (‘MietY’) which called for restrictions on cross-border transfer of personal data, the problem with the current bill is that it only restricts the flow of “sensitive personal data” abroad. This is problematic as this does not stop adversaries from transferring personal data not considered sensitive and make a citizen database out of such collected information. Even though the majority of the companies won’t go down this path, the current TikTok incident highlights serious issues existing in our current framework, which can be seen as a threat to national security later on. This warning does not come in isolation as US officials and experts have pointed out that China by conducting a series of hacks, the most recent one being Equifax is building a massive database of American personal information through which it wants to exploit the vulnerabilities of the US.&nbsp; &nbsp;

These incidents call for serious deliberations between the Indian regulators and governmental agencies to understand the depth and seriousness of this problem. Wars in future are going to be fought over the internet where the foundations of digital economies are being laid down, and sadly India is notoriously behind the technological curve in all aspects. Not to mention that most of the government websites are not even SSL encrypted, which is an essential requirement these days.&nbsp;

The Indian legislators and regulators need to create appropriate safeguards that restrict the flow of information that can be used in future as espionage against Indian assets. Further, the Indian government needs to create infrastructure which monitors the transfer of data overseas in realtime. This is easier said than done, but the Indian workforce and industry experts have the technical prowess to implement such tranches that protect data sovereignty and modernize data governance. Going forward if TikTok wants to operate in India, it needs to function as an independent body, separate from the supervision and control of its Chinese counterpart or it would find it challenging to navigate the regulatory waters in India. Majority of the TikTok users are Indian, and a ban on the social media application would severely cut and limit the prospects of the company. This will impact its revenue and future valuation, a nightmare for ByteDance to say the least. &nbsp; 
 
&nbsp;(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)&nbsp;

TikTok is facing a public relations crisis after its ratings dropped from 4.3 to 1.3 in a matter of a few days when Indian citizens took over Twitter and Youtube to highlight several problematic social media contents being circulated on the video-sharing platform ranging from animal abuse, rape, acid attack to justifying terrorism and promoting communal violence.

TikTok is facing a public relations crisis after its ratings dropped from 4.3 to 1.3 in a matter of a few days when Indian citizens took over Twitter and Youtube to highlight several problematic social media contents being circulated on the video-sharing platform ranging from animal abuse, rape, acid attack to justifying terrorism and promoting communal violence. Complaints before National Commission for Women have been filed, and letters have been written to the central government highlighting that the application is not suitable for the youth and that TikTok is deliberately not censoring content deemed against the interests of the Indian society. This problem is more profound than it seems as the company behind TikTok, ByteDance has earlier been accused of censoring social media content related to Tibet, Dalai Lama and the Hongkong protests thereby acting as a mouthpiece of China Communist Party (‘CCP’). Due to the fears of espionage and data theft, US senators have moved a bill seeking to ban federal employees from using the application altogether. The connection between Chinese corporations and the Chinese Communist Party is not hidden, and it is a well-known fact that Chinese corporations do the bidding for the Chinese Communist Party overseas to advance its interests and protect its ‘Face’ by censoring content deemed unfavourable and against the ‘One China’ Policy’. This incident highlights many lacunas existing in our current regulatory framework ranging from the protection of user data to the risk and susceptibility of the government officials, agencies, and corporations against data theft by China. Further, it showcases how an application can be used in future to harm national interests as a means of ‘social warfare’. Due to this, the central government needs to understand that TikTok is a national threat if left unchecked. Furthermore, this incident emphasizes the need for data localisation and data protection laws that protect data sovereignty and privacy. Data has been termed as the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’ and moving forward regulating and safeguarding data is going to be one of the major challenges that regulators will face ranging from its impact on the economy, international affairs and the security of its citizens. The Reserve Bank of India in 2018 had issued a directive to companies for storing financial system-related information in India in sectors ranging from insurance, healthcare to e-commerce, thereby mandating data localization in some form. Still, this does not cover or stop social media platforms per se to engage in cross-border transfer of personal data. On December 11 2019, the Personal Protection Bill 2019 was tabled before the parliament by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (‘MietY’) which called for restrictions on cross-border transfer of personal data, the problem with the current bill is that it only restricts the flow of “sensitive personal data” abroad. This is problematic as this does not stop adversaries from transferring personal data not considered sensitive and make a citizen database out of such collected information. Even though the majority of the companies won’t go down this path, the current TikTok incident highlights serious issues existing in our current framework, which can be seen as a threat to national security later on. This warning does not come in isolation as US officials and experts have pointed out that China by conducting a series of hacks, the most recent one being Equifax is building a massive database of American personal information through which it wants to exploit the vulnerabilities of the US. These incidents call for serious deliberations between the Indian regulators and governmental agencies to understand the depth and seriousness of this problem. Wars in future are going to be fought over the internet where the foundations of digital economies are being laid down, and sadly India is notoriously behind the technological curve in all aspects. Not to mention that most of the government websites are not even SSL encrypted, which is an essential requirement these days. The Indian legislators and regulators need to create appropriate safeguards that restrict the flow of information that can be used in future as espionage against Indian assets. Further, the Indian government needs to create infrastructure which monitors the transfer of data overseas in realtime. This is easier said than done, but the Indian workforce and industry experts have the technical prowess to implement such tranches that protect data sovereignty and modernize data governance. Going forward if TikTok wants to operate in India, it needs to function as an independent body, separate from the supervision and control of its Chinese counterpart or it would find it challenging to navigate the regulatory waters in India. Majority of the TikTok users are Indian, and a ban on the social media application would severely cut and limit the prospects of the company. This will impact its revenue and future valuation, a nightmare for ByteDance to say the least. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Why TikTok is a threat to national security if left unchecked

TikTok has often been called a potential counter-intelligence threat. But the popular short-form video platform has refuted any such allegation.

In an apparent clarification to Wion, TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, has said their community guidelines are holistic, and that they do not have any specific rules for content that explicitly goes against the stated positions of the Chinese government.

TikTok and Helo, both owned by Bytedance, boast of millions of downloads across the world. It, hence, became mandatory to look into allegations against the authenticity of these apps.

TikTok India has also often courted several controversies earlier. Last year in July, an inquiry to the Centre asked for a new law to test and regulate apps like TikTok as India does not have any regulations to monitor any illegal activity on such platforms.

To this end, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/tiktok-an-entertainment-platform-or-chinese-propaganda-company-299518">Wion</a>, two days ago, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/tiktok-an-entertainment-platform-or-chinese-propaganda-company-299518">reported on how TikTok has been cutting across genres to become somewhat a propaganda tool for the Chinese Communist Party</a>. It was also reported that Helo&nbsp;had told its moderators to censor content against the Chinese government, for example, those mentioning the Dalai Lama or the Tibet.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/tiktok-an-entertainment-platform-or-chinese-propaganda-company-299518">Also read |&nbsp;TikTok: An entertainment platform or Chinese propaganda company?</a> 
&nbsp; 
At the same time, Wion sent an email to TikTok's team in India for clarification.

TikTok, in a written reply, said the moderation teams of TikTok and Helo were different.

"TikTok's comprehensive community guidelines establish what we expect from our community, and what is not tolerated on our platform," they added.

The statement further said, "TikTok has put in place protective measures by combining content moderation technology with a robust human moderation team. This team, which is based in over 20 countries and regions, now covers 36 languages, an increase of 400% in terms of language support from one year ago. In India, the moderation team covers 15 major Indian languages, including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Gujarati and more.

"Most importantly, TikTok enables users to help in content moderation as well. TikTok’s users can report content that they believe violates any of the community guidelines or that they find offensive directly from the app itself. "

Though the platform does not operate in China, it's often speculated that the content on the app is stipulated to adhere to Chinese intelligence, national security and cybersecurity laws.

Politicos across the world also view TikTok as a potential target of foreign influence campaigns.

Despite such allegations, TikTok has clocked 2 billion users globally, and as many as 611 million users in India.

TikTok has often been called a potential counter-intelligence threat. But the popular short-form video platform has refuted any such allegation. In an apparent clarification to Wion, TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, has said their community guidelines are holistic, and that they do not have any specific rules for content that explicitly goes against the stated positions of the Chinese government.

TikTok has often been called a potential counter-intelligence threat. But the popular short-form video platform has refuted any such allegation. In an apparent clarification to Wion, TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, has said their community guidelines are holistic, and that they do not have any specific rules for content that explicitly goes against the stated positions of the Chinese government. TikTok and Helo, both owned by Bytedance, boast of millions of downloads across the world. It, hence, became mandatory to look into allegations against the authenticity of these apps. TikTok India has also often courted several controversies earlier. Last year in July, an inquiry to the Centre asked for a new law to test and regulate apps like TikTok as India does not have any regulations to monitor any illegal activity on such platforms. To this end, Wion, two days ago, reported on how TikTok has been cutting across genres to become somewhat a propaganda tool for the Chinese Communist Party. It was also reported that Helo had told its moderators to censor content against the Chinese government, for example, those mentioning the Dalai Lama or the Tibet. Also read | TikTok: An entertainment platform or Chinese propaganda company? At the same time, Wion sent an email to TikTok's team in India for clarification. TikTok, in a written reply, said the moderation teams of TikTok and Helo were different. "TikTok's comprehensive community guidelines establish what we expect from our community, and what is not tolerated on our platform," they added. The statement further said, "TikTok has put in place protective measures by combining content moderation technology with a robust human moderation team. This team, which is based in over 20 countries and regions, now covers 36 languages, an increase of 400% in terms of language support from one year ago. In India, the moderation team covers 15 major Indian languages, including Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Gujarati and more. "Most importantly, TikTok enables users to help in content moderation as well. TikTok’s users can report content that they believe violates any of the community guidelines or that they find offensive directly from the app itself. " Though the platform does not operate in China, it's often speculated that the content on the app is stipulated to adhere to Chinese intelligence, national security and cybersecurity laws. Politicos across the world also view TikTok as a potential target of foreign influence campaigns. Despite such allegations, TikTok has clocked 2 billion users globally, and as many as 611 million users in India.

No guidelines for content that goes against China: TikTok to Wion

Memes, music, dance routines, and make-up tutorials. Tiktok is not an entertainment platform. 
&nbsp; 
It is a propaganda tool of the Chinese Communist Party. Tiktok has told its moderators to censor content against the Chinese government, for example,&nbsp;those mentioning the Dalai Lama or Tibet. 
&nbsp; 
The email was reportedly sent to Tiktok's team in India. The target was Indian content although we cannot independently verify&nbsp;the authenticity of the email.

TikTok is owned by Bytedance. It is a Chinese tech company headquartered in Beijing.

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E-mail done by TikTok to their India employees for removing anything which is against Chinese Government, especially Tibet and Dalai Lama! 
 
Is this your way China to curb the Freedom of Speech across the globe? <a href="https://t.co/6ujBAcRogd">pic.twitter.com/6ujBAcRogd</a>
— Zankrut Oza (@zankrut) <a href="https://twitter.com/zankrut/status/1261545706533289984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 16, 2020</a></blockquote>
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In 2018, Bytedance founder Zhang Yiming made a pledge to the Chinese government. Zhang promised to ensure party “voices are broadcast to strength.”

"Further deepening cooperation with authoritative [official party] media, elevating distribution of authoritative media content, ensuring that authoritative [official party] media voices are broadcast to strength, " Zhang said.

Over the last 2 years, TikTok has been adhering to the&nbsp;pledge. It has systematically removed anti-China content from its platform.

There is growing global support for Taiwan right now, it is not surprising that TikTok wants to do away with the very mention of Taiwan or Tibet and the Dalai Lama.&nbsp;

TikTok has previously asked its censors to moderate a range of videos.&nbsp;

Those mentioning Tiananmen Square or Tibetian independence or banned religious group - Falun Gong and&nbsp;videos mentioning Hong Kong protests were taken down. As were those talking about the plight of Uighur Muslims.

Community guidelines are on its website but without any specifics. Despite guidelines against violent content, TikTok is filled with animal abuse content.

TikTok is like a hidden medicine in a dog's food bowl. There are tons of fun videos and that makes it impossible to realise that it may also be part of Chinese propaganda.

Tiktok is an undercover Chinese foreign policy tool. If authentic, the&nbsp;email spells global information war. Banning TikTok would be India's best reply to the thread.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/no-guidelines-for-content-that-goes-against-china-tiktok-to-wion-299931">Also read | TikTok's clarification to Wion's story</a>

Memes, music, dance routines, and make-up tutorials. Tiktok is not an entertainment platform. It is a propaganda tool of the Chinese Communist Party. Tiktok has told its moderators to censor content against the Chinese government, for example, those mentioning the Dalai Lama or Tibet.

Memes, music, dance routines, and make-up tutorials. Tiktok is not an entertainment platform. It is a propaganda tool of the Chinese Communist Party. Tiktok has told its moderators to censor content against the Chinese government, for example, those mentioning the Dalai Lama or Tibet. The email was reportedly sent to Tiktok's team in India. The target was Indian content although we cannot independently verify the authenticity of the email. TikTok is owned by Bytedance. It is a Chinese tech company headquartered in Beijing. E-mail done by TikTok to their India employees for removing anything which is against Chinese Government, especially Tibet and Dalai Lama! Is this your way China to curb the Freedom of Speech across the globe? pic.twitter.com/6ujBAcRogd — Zankrut Oza (@zankrut) May 16, 2020 × In 2018, Bytedance founder Zhang Yiming made a pledge to the Chinese government. Zhang promised to ensure party “voices are broadcast to strength.” "Further deepening cooperation with authoritative [official party] media, elevating distribution of authoritative media content, ensuring that authoritative [official party] media voices are broadcast to strength, " Zhang said. Over the last 2 years, TikTok has been adhering to the pledge. It has systematically removed anti-China content from its platform. There is growing global support for Taiwan right now, it is not surprising that TikTok wants to do away with the very mention of Taiwan or Tibet and the Dalai Lama. TikTok has previously asked its censors to moderate a range of videos. Those mentioning Tiananmen Square or Tibetian independence or banned religious group - Falun Gong and videos mentioning Hong Kong protests were taken down. As were those talking about the plight of Uighur Muslims. Community guidelines are on its website but without any specifics. Despite guidelines against violent content, TikTok is filled with animal abuse content. TikTok is like a hidden medicine in a dog's food bowl. There are tons of fun videos and that makes it impossible to realise that it may also be part of Chinese propaganda. Tiktok is an undercover Chinese foreign policy tool. If authentic, the email spells global information war. Banning TikTok would be India's best reply to the thread. Also read | TikTok's clarification to Wion's story

TikTok: An entertainment platform or Chinese propaganda company?

Chinese social networking platform TikTok on Thursday added parental control feature to its app that will allow parents to set restrictions on the accounts of their children remotely.

Media reports suggest that the feature is named 'family Pairing', that lets parents link their TikTok accounts with the account of the children. 'Family Pairing' allows parents to disable direct messages, set screen time limits and disable direct messages.

TikTok will also be disabling the feature of direct messages for all the users below the age of 16 from today.

TikTok is a Chinese video-sharing social networking service owned by ByteDance, a Beijing-based company founded in 2012 by Zhang Yiming.&nbsp;

The feature has been officially introduced but TikTok said that the worldwide rollout will take place over the “coming weeks.”

This is not a well-explained feature. But for an app of TikTok’s scale, it’s likely based in large part on users flagging inappropriate videos they come across. 
 
(With inputs from ANI)

Chinese social networking platform TikTok on Thursday added parental control feature to its app that will allow parents to set restrictions on the accounts of their children remotely.

Chinese social networking platform TikTok on Thursday added parental control feature to its app that will allow parents to set restrictions on the accounts of their children remotely. Media reports suggest that the feature is named 'family Pairing', that lets parents link their TikTok accounts with the account of the children. 'Family Pairing' allows parents to disable direct messages, set screen time limits and disable direct messages. TikTok will also be disabling the feature of direct messages for all the users below the age of 16 from today. TikTok is a Chinese video-sharing social networking service owned by ByteDance, a Beijing-based company founded in 2012 by Zhang Yiming. The feature has been officially introduced but TikTok said that the worldwide rollout will take place over the “coming weeks.” This is not a well-explained feature. But for an app of TikTok’s scale, it’s likely based in large part on users flagging inappropriate videos they come across. (With inputs from ANI)

TikTok adds ‘Family Pairing’, gives parents more control over their kids' accounts

Video conferencing app Zoom, whose popularity skyrocketed due to the global lockdown amid coronavirus pandemic, is under scrutiny after concerns were raised over its&nbsp;data privacy and security practices.

New York's attorney general has written to the California-based firm&nbsp;raising concerns over its ability to cope with the rise in users.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/dethroning-whatsapp-tiktok-video-conferencing-app-zoom-tops-download-charts-289800">Dethroning, Whatsapp, TikTok video conferencing app Zoom tops download charts</a>

The investigation comes after the FBI's Boston office warned on Monday that it had "received multiple reports of conferences being disrupted by pornographic and/or hate images and threatening language."

Elon Musk's rocket company SpaceX has also banned its employees from using the app, citing "significant privacy and security concerns,"&nbsp;

According to a report, the app which has more than&nbsp;200 million daily video users, is the new target for online hackers who are hijacking meetings, interrupting educational sessions and&nbsp;posting white supremacist messages. This is called ''Zoombombing.''

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/zoom-pulls-in-more-than-200-million-daily-video-users-during-worldwide-lockdowns-290157">Zoom pulls in more than 200 million daily video users during worldwide lockdowns</a>

These hackers are also sharing leaking sensitive consumer data and sending pornographic content to its users.

Social media users who experienced this hacking used&nbsp;the hashtag #zoombombed to warn&nbsp;others&nbsp;users.

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Our video call was just attacked by someone who kept sharing pornography + switching between different user accounts so we could not block them. Stay tuned for next steps. And I am sorry to everyone who experienced. We shut down as soon as we could.
— Jessica Lessin (@Jessicalessin) <a href="https://twitter.com/Jessicalessin/status/1241087064134660096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 20, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Previously, an ex-NSA hacker now a principal security researcher Patrick Wardle had discovered two security bugs in the app which can easily take control over a computer and warned its users of misuse.

While one bug can allow the attacker to inject malicious code into the Zoom installer that would allow them to access the person’s setup, the other bug could control the user's webcam and microphone.

Another crucial security flaw of the app includes no end-to-end encryption. This encryption ensures that&nbsp;no-one other than participants can see a meeting.

The FBI warned people that should not make meetings or classrooms public when they are being hosted on Zoom. Such chats can be restricted either by requiring a password or using the waiting room feature to only let in approved people.

It also alerted people not to post a link to a given chat on any public platform. Instead, those links should be sent directly to the people involved.

The federal law enforcement agency also&nbsp;asked&nbsp;people to ensure that their screen-sharing options are set to ''host only'', meaning that anyone who does manage to join the chat would not be able to show images or other distressing things to anyone else in the conversation.

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Video conferencing app Zoom, whose popularity skyrocketed due to the global lockdown amid coronavirus pandemic, is under scrutiny after concerns were raised over its data privacy and security practices.

Video conferencing app Zoom, whose popularity skyrocketed due to the global lockdown amid coronavirus pandemic, is under scrutiny after concerns were raised over its data privacy and security practices. New York's attorney general has written to the California-based firm raising concerns over its ability to cope with the rise in users. Also read: Dethroning, Whatsapp, TikTok video conferencing app Zoom tops download charts The investigation comes after the FBI's Boston office warned on Monday that it had "received multiple reports of conferences being disrupted by pornographic and/or hate images and threatening language." Elon Musk's rocket company SpaceX has also banned its employees from using the app, citing "significant privacy and security concerns," According to a report, the app which has more than 200 million daily video users, is the new target for online hackers who are hijacking meetings, interrupting educational sessions and posting white supremacist messages. This is called ''Zoombombing.'' Zoom pulls in more than 200 million daily video users during worldwide lockdowns These hackers are also sharing leaking sensitive consumer data and sending pornographic content to its users. Social media users who experienced this hacking used the hashtag #zoombombed to warn others users. Our video call was just attacked by someone who kept sharing pornography + switching between different user accounts so we could not block them. Stay tuned for next steps. And I am sorry to everyone who experienced. We shut down as soon as we could. — Jessica Lessin (@Jessicalessin) March 20, 2020 × Previously, an ex-NSA hacker now a principal security researcher Patrick Wardle had discovered two security bugs in the app which can easily take control over a computer and warned its users of misuse. While one bug can allow the attacker to inject malicious code into the Zoom installer that would allow them to access the person’s setup, the other bug could control the user's webcam and microphone. Another crucial security flaw of the app includes no end-to-end encryption. This encryption ensures that no-one other than participants can see a meeting. The FBI warned people that should not make meetings or classrooms public when they are being hosted on Zoom. Such chats can be restricted either by requiring a password or using the waiting room feature to only let in approved people. It also alerted people not to post a link to a given chat on any public platform. Instead, those links should be sent directly to the people involved. The federal law enforcement agency also asked people to ensure that their screen-sharing options are set to ''host only'', meaning that anyone who does manage to join the chat would not be able to show images or other distressing things to anyone else in the conversation.

Why are concerns being raised on Zoom app's safety and security?

As the coronavirus cases continue to surge, more and more people are confined to their homes due to the strict lockdowns imposed by governments giving a boom to the tech world.

According to a recent report by app analytics platform, a video conferencing app call Zoom opped download charts globally throughout February and March while dethroning Whatsapp and TikTok.

Zoom offers video and screen sharing for up to 100 people.

"As more employees work from home globally, we are seeing strong demand for tools that enable people to feel connected and foster collaboration. Given their free tiers, these apps could also be good tools for businesses that haven't ordinarily paid for these services," App Annie senior insights manager Lexi Sydow said in a blog post on Monday.

As people face uncertain timelines for the length of social isolation, video conferencing apps have the potential to vastly influence our daily habits,&nbsp; breaking down geological barriers and fostering the ability to work and socialise relatively seamlessly.

Meanwhile, Zoom has updated its iOS app to remove the software development kit (SDK) that was providing users data to Facebook through the Login with a Facebook feature.

A network traffic analysis carried out by Motherboard claimed last week that Zoom for iOS was sending data to Facebook without making any mention of the practice in its privacy policy.

(With inputs from agencies) 
&nbsp;

As the coronavirus cases continue to surge, more and more people are confined to their homes due to the strict lockdowns imposed by governments giving a boom to the tech world.

As the coronavirus cases continue to surge, more and more people are confined to their homes due to the strict lockdowns imposed by governments giving a boom to the tech world. According to a recent report by app analytics platform, a video conferencing app call Zoom opped download charts globally throughout February and March while dethroning Whatsapp and TikTok. Zoom offers video and screen sharing for up to 100 people. "As more employees work from home globally, we are seeing strong demand for tools that enable people to feel connected and foster collaboration. Given their free tiers, these apps could also be good tools for businesses that haven't ordinarily paid for these services," App Annie senior insights manager Lexi Sydow said in a blog post on Monday. As people face uncertain timelines for the length of social isolation, video conferencing apps have the potential to vastly influence our daily habits, breaking down geological barriers and fostering the ability to work and socialise relatively seamlessly. Meanwhile, Zoom has updated its iOS app to remove the software development kit (SDK) that was providing users data to Facebook through the Login with a Facebook feature. A network traffic analysis carried out by Motherboard claimed last week that Zoom for iOS was sending data to Facebook without making any mention of the practice in its privacy policy. (With inputs from agencies)

Dethroning, Whatsapp, TikTok video conferencing app Zoom tops download charts

The Chinese video-sharing app TikTok is pressurizing moderators to suppress videos from users deemed too ugly, poor or disabled, as part of the company’s efforts to curate an aspirational air in the videos it promotes.

Moderators were also told to censor political speech in TikTok live streams, punishing those who harmed ''national honour''&nbsp;or broadcast streams about ''state organs such as police''&nbsp;with bans from the platform, according&nbsp;to&nbsp;new documents published by The Intercept.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-senators-move-bill-to-ban-federal-employees-from-using-tiktok-285930">US Senators move bill to ban federal employees from using TikTok</a>

The documents exposed that the moderators were told that videos were to be removed from the feed if “the shooting environment is shabby and dilapidated”, since ''this kind of environment is less fancy and aesthetically unappealing''.

These previously unreported Chinese policy documents provide new details about the company's efforts to enforce rigid constraints across its users while it simultaneously attempts to bolster its image as a global paragon of self-expression creativity.&nbsp;

Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/tiktok-accused-in-california-lawsuit-of-sending-user-data-to-china-265867">TikTok accused of sending user data to China in California lawsuit</a>

A TikTok spokesperson said the goal was to prevent bullying on the platform, tying the document to&nbsp;a report from December&nbsp;that showed that the company was suppressing vulnerable users’ videos in a misguided effort to prevent them from becoming the centre of attention that could turn sour.&nbsp;

TikTok is owned by Beijing-based tech unicorn Bytedance.

Other documents published by The Intercept show the extent of TikTok’s former rules requiring moderators to enforce Chinese foreign policy overseas.

The site published the company’s live streaming policies, which instruct moderators to take down ''controversial content''&nbsp;that promotes the independence of Taiwan.

The Chinese video-sharing app TikTok is pressurizing moderators to suppress videos from users deemed too ugly, poor or disabled, as part of the company’s efforts to curate an aspirational air in the videos it promotes.

The Chinese video-sharing app TikTok is pressurizing moderators to suppress videos from users deemed too ugly, poor or disabled, as part of the company’s efforts to curate an aspirational air in the videos it promotes. Moderators were also told to censor political speech in TikTok live streams, punishing those who harmed ''national honour'' or broadcast streams about ''state organs such as police'' with bans from the platform, according to new documents published by The Intercept. Also read: US Senators move bill to ban federal employees from using TikTok The documents exposed that the moderators were told that videos were to be removed from the feed if “the shooting environment is shabby and dilapidated”, since ''this kind of environment is less fancy and aesthetically unappealing''. These previously unreported Chinese policy documents provide new details about the company's efforts to enforce rigid constraints across its users while it simultaneously attempts to bolster its image as a global paragon of self-expression creativity. Also read: TikTok accused of sending user data to China in California lawsuit A TikTok spokesperson said the goal was to prevent bullying on the platform, tying the document to a report from December that showed that the company was suppressing vulnerable users’ videos in a misguided effort to prevent them from becoming the centre of attention that could turn sour. TikTok is owned by Beijing-based tech unicorn Bytedance. Other documents published by The Intercept show the extent of TikTok’s former rules requiring moderators to enforce Chinese foreign policy overseas. The site published the company’s live streaming policies, which instruct moderators to take down ''controversial content'' that promotes the independence of Taiwan.

TikTok coercing moderators to 'filter out videos from ugly, poor or disabled users'

Two US Republican Senators Josh Hawley and <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-lawmakers-propose-ban-on-tiktok-citing-chinese-government-ties-284355">Rick Scott</a> introduced a bill to ban federal employees from using&nbsp;Chinese social media app TikTok citing "security risk".

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/tiktok-received-more-numbers-than-facebook-ever-did-sheryl-sandberg-283417">Also Read: TikTok received more numbers than Facebook ever did, says Sheryl Sandberg</a>

"TikTok is owned by a Chinese company that includes Chinese Communist Party members on its board, and it is required by law to share user data with Beijing," Senator Hawley said, adding," as many of our federal agencies have already recognized, TikTok is a major security risk to the United States, and it has no place on government devices."

Last week during a Senate hearing, US officials including the FBI, US&nbsp;Justice Department and Homeland Security had said that the Chinese app could become a tool to be exploited by Chinese intelligence services.

A California college student had earlier accused the video-sharing app of transferring private user data to servers in China in a lawsuit. According to the filing, the app had allegedly transferred user data to two servers in China bugly.qq.com, and umeng.com in April 2019.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/now-hiring-german-hospital-uses-tiktok-to-recruit-new-talent-267276">Also Read: Now hiring! German hospital uses TikTok to recruit new talent</a>&nbsp;

According to reports, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States had opened a national security review of TikTok. The US government believes the app is being used as a tool of espionage.

In November last year, the US government had launched a national security review of TikTok owner ByteDance Technology's $1 billion acquisition of US social media app Musical.ly.

As the Senators set the US bill in motion, TikTok said it was opening a "Transparency Center" at the company's Los Angeles office in a bid to boost transparency.

"This new facility in our LA office will provide outside experts with an opportunity to directly view how our teams at TikTok go about the day-to-day challenging, but critically important, work of moderating content on the platform," the company said in a statement.

"The Transparency Center will open in early May with an initial focus on TikTok's content moderation. Later, we will expand the centre to include insight into our source code, and our efforts around data privacy and security," it added.

Two US Republican Senators Josh Hawley and Rick Scott introduced a bill to ban federal employees from using Chinese social media app TikTok citing "security risk".

Two US Republican Senators Josh Hawley and Rick Scott introduced a bill to ban federal employees from using Chinese social media app TikTok citing "security risk". Also Read: TikTok received more numbers than Facebook ever did, says Sheryl Sandberg "TikTok is owned by a Chinese company that includes Chinese Communist Party members on its board, and it is required by law to share user data with Beijing," Senator Hawley said, adding," as many of our federal agencies have already recognized, TikTok is a major security risk to the United States, and it has no place on government devices." Last week during a Senate hearing, US officials including the FBI, US Justice Department and Homeland Security had said that the Chinese app could become a tool to be exploited by Chinese intelligence services. A California college student had earlier accused the video-sharing app of transferring private user data to servers in China in a lawsuit. According to the filing, the app had allegedly transferred user data to two servers in China bugly.qq.com, and umeng.com in April 2019. Also Read: Now hiring! German hospital uses TikTok to recruit new talent According to reports, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States had opened a national security review of TikTok. The US government believes the app is being used as a tool of espionage. In November last year, the US government had launched a national security review of TikTok owner ByteDance Technology's $1 billion acquisition of US social media app Musical.ly. As the Senators set the US bill in motion, TikTok said it was opening a "Transparency Center" at the company's Los Angeles office in a bid to boost transparency. "This new facility in our LA office will provide outside experts with an opportunity to directly view how our teams at TikTok go about the day-to-day challenging, but critically important, work of moderating content on the platform," the company said in a statement. "The Transparency Center will open in early May with an initial focus on TikTok's content moderation. Later, we will expand the centre to include insight into our source code, and our efforts around data privacy and security," it added.

US Senators move bill to ban federal employees from using TikTok

US officials on Wednesday stepped up warnings about the potential security risks from the fast-growing, Chinese-owned TikTok as a lawmaker unveiled legislation to ban the social media app from government devices.

At a Senate hearing, officials from the FBI, the Justice Department and Homeland Security said the video-sharing app could become another tool exploited by Chinese intelligence services.

Also read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/tiktok-received-more-numbers-than-facebook-ever-did-sheryl-sandberg-283417">TikTok received more numbers than Facebook ever did, says&nbsp;Sheryl Sandberg</a>

Senator Josh Hawley, who convened the hearing, said he was introducing a bill to ban TikTok from all US government devices, calling it "a major security risk for the American people."

TikTok, which is especially popular with teens, is believed to have been the most downloaded app worldwide last year, but US officials have expressed concern over its connections with the government in Beijing.

"TikTok is one example of an application where the average citizen doesn't understand the implications of what's behind it," Clyde Wallace, an official in the FBI's cyber division, told the hearing.

"It's basically controlled by a state-sponsored actor."

While the various data points collected by TikTok may not seem sensitive, Wallace said the information may be aggregated and "used for many purposes."

In his written testimony, Wallace said Chinese-owned social media applications may collect personal data including biometrics, contact lists, location data and bank and credit card details.

"Any and all data can be transferred to other locations and associated entities to include the Chinese parent company," he said.

Bryan Ware, a cybersecurity official at the Department of Homeland Security, echoed those fears, saying that TikTok data could become part of a large database exploited by China.

"China has amazing programs in collection of data and developing artificial intelligence and analytics against that data for purposes that we don't fully know... and that should give us great concern," Ware said.

"There's certainly no place for applications like TikTok on government devices and government networks."

Adam Hickey, an assistant attorney general in the Justice Department's security division, said the aggregation of data from TikTok "makes it easier for intelligence services to either recruit or hack into systems used by government employees."

Samm Sacks, a cybersecurity fellow at the New America Foundation specializing in China, said Chinese regulations may enable the government to "essentially require anything that they want of these companies" even if some privately push back at the requests.

TikTok has said its operations were not influenced by the Beijing authorities. 
&nbsp;

US officials on Wednesday stepped up warnings about the potential security risks from the fast-growing, Chinese-owned TikTok as a lawmaker unveiled legislation to ban the social media app from government devices.

US officials on Wednesday stepped up warnings about the potential security risks from the fast-growing, Chinese-owned TikTok as a lawmaker unveiled legislation to ban the social media app from government devices. At a Senate hearing, officials from the FBI, the Justice Department and Homeland Security said the video-sharing app could become another tool exploited by Chinese intelligence services. Also read: TikTok received more numbers than Facebook ever did, says Sheryl Sandberg Senator Josh Hawley, who convened the hearing, said he was introducing a bill to ban TikTok from all US government devices, calling it "a major security risk for the American people." TikTok, which is especially popular with teens, is believed to have been the most downloaded app worldwide last year, but US officials have expressed concern over its connections with the government in Beijing. "TikTok is one example of an application where the average citizen doesn't understand the implications of what's behind it," Clyde Wallace, an official in the FBI's cyber division, told the hearing. "It's basically controlled by a state-sponsored actor." While the various data points collected by TikTok may not seem sensitive, Wallace said the information may be aggregated and "used for many purposes." In his written testimony, Wallace said Chinese-owned social media applications may collect personal data including biometrics, contact lists, location data and bank and credit card details. "Any and all data can be transferred to other locations and associated entities to include the Chinese parent company," he said. Bryan Ware, a cybersecurity official at the Department of Homeland Security, echoed those fears, saying that TikTok data could become part of a large database exploited by China. "China has amazing programs in collection of data and developing artificial intelligence and analytics against that data for purposes that we don't fully know... and that should give us great concern," Ware said. "There's certainly no place for applications like TikTok on government devices and government networks." Adam Hickey, an assistant attorney general in the Justice Department's security division, said the aggregation of data from TikTok "makes it easier for intelligence services to either recruit or hack into systems used by government employees." Samm Sacks, a cybersecurity fellow at the New America Foundation specializing in China, said Chinese regulations may enable the government to "essentially require anything that they want of these companies" even if some privately push back at the requests. TikTok has said its operations were not influenced by the Beijing authorities.

US lawmakers propose ban on TikTok citing Chinese government ties

Facebook's Chief Operating Officer expressed worries about the threat posed by TikTok, the short-form video app which is very popular among the younger generation. Sandberg said that <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/tiktok-accused-in-california-lawsuit-of-sending-user-data-to-china-265867">TikTok is growing</a> "very fast" and it has received more numbers than the social media giant Facebook ever did.

During an interview with an American news channel, Sandberg talked about intense competition for user engagement among social media companies.&nbsp;

"In the world of tech, we compete for every minute of your attention. Every day you pick up your phone, I mean my kids pick up the phone and they're on TikTok," Sanberg said in the podcast form of the interview.

The interviewer then asked Sandberg if she worries about TikTok to which she responded saying, &nbsp;"Sure.. they're huge, they're growing really quickly, they've gotten to bigger numbers faster than we ever did."&nbsp;

"Of course we worry about it, we have to be worried about all the innovation," Sandberg also said.

In November last year, TikTok hit 1.5 billion downloads and became the third most-downloaded non-gaming app of 2019, outperforming both Facebook and the photo-sharing platform Instagram. Instagram is also owned by Facebook.

Meanwhile, owned by China-based ByteDance Technology Co, TikTok is facing a probe launched by US government national security over concerns about data storage and possible censorship of politically sensitive content.

Facebook's Chief Operating Officer expressed worries about the threat posed by TikTok, the short-form video app which is very popular among the younger generation.

Facebook's Chief Operating Officer expressed worries about the threat posed by TikTok, the short-form video app which is very popular among the younger generation. Sandberg said that TikTok is growing "very fast" and it has received more numbers than the social media giant Facebook ever did. During an interview with an American news channel, Sandberg talked about intense competition for user engagement among social media companies. "In the world of tech, we compete for every minute of your attention. Every day you pick up your phone, I mean my kids pick up the phone and they're on TikTok," Sanberg said in the podcast form of the interview. The interviewer then asked Sandberg if she worries about TikTok to which she responded saying, "Sure.. they're huge, they're growing really quickly, they've gotten to bigger numbers faster than we ever did." "Of course we worry about it, we have to be worried about all the innovation," Sandberg also said. In November last year, TikTok hit 1.5 billion downloads and became the third most-downloaded non-gaming app of 2019, outperforming both Facebook and the photo-sharing platform Instagram. Instagram is also owned by Facebook. Meanwhile, owned by China-based ByteDance Technology Co, TikTok is facing a probe launched by US government national security over concerns about data storage and possible censorship of politically sensitive content.

TikTok received more numbers than Facebook ever did: Sheryl Sandberg

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