The social media platform TikTok where users share short-videos witnessed a huge fallout after it was massively reported by users after several incidents of the platform being used for glorifying various crimes emerged in recent times. The app’s rating on Google Play Store dropped swiftly from 4.6 to 1.3. A war had broken out some days ago between the TikTok’s so-called social media influencers and the Youtube content creators that led to a series of revelations about the way TikTok is being used to glorify the worst crimes such as the acid attack on women and animal abuse.
Owing to the absurd, insensitive and hateful content, the demand for the ban of the app has been growing. The National Commission for Women(NCW) Chairperson Rekha Sharma has recently written to the social media platform Tiktok regarding a video in which the users are glorifying an acid attack on women. The video was taken down by the uploader, and later the user’s account was suspended by TikTok.
NCW says the app should be banned
Rekha Sharma alleged that several videos related to violence against women have been shared on this platform. Taking to Twitter, she said that she’s keeping a strong opinion that this platform should be banned.
I am of the strong openion that this @TikTok_IN should be banned totally and will be writting to GOI. It not only has these objectionable videos but also pushing youngsters towards unproductive life where they are living only for few followers and even dying when no. Decline. https://t.co/MyeuRbjZAy
— Rekha Sharma (@sharmarekha) May 19, 2020
She asserted that she will be writing to GOI in the matter. “It not only has these objectionable videos but it is also pushing youngsters towards an unproductive life where they are living only for few followers and even dying when the numbers decrease”, She further added.
TikTok responded
Rekha Sharma said that a video drew her attention in which a user seemed to be throwing acid on women. She said, “we wrote to Tik Tok to take it down and they cooperated. Soon, we were shown hundreds of videos with abusive content — videos inferring rape, domestic abuse, and molestation. We got in touch with TikTok and showed them some more of the videos; we are waiting for their response.”
The spokesperson of Tik Tok told IANS, “Keeping people on TikTok safe is a top priority and we make it clear in our Terms of Service and Community Guidelines that clearly outline what is not acceptable on our platform. According to the policy, we do not allow content that risks the safety of others, promotes physical harm or glorifies violence against women.”
TikTok which is owned by the Chineses firm name ByteDance had over two million downloads and earlier had 4.6 rating at the google play store. But now the app rating is only 1.3 owing to mass downvoting by users. It was also accredited as the best social media app. It has more than 600 million users in India.
TikTok as a propaganda tool
TikTok, the popular vertical format short video app, is well known for talent, comedy and lip sync videos. Initially, most videos uploaded on the app mostly featured dance and other talent, comedies, lip-syncs etc. But as any social media platform, controversial content started appearing in this app also. Apart from short videos that glorify assault on women, the app was also widely misused to spread misinformation during the initial days of Coronavirus outbreak. Hundreds of videos had appeared claiming that the virus will not affect those who worship Allah properly by doing five times namaz, and that Coronavirus is actually sent by Allah to punish ‘kafirs’. Muslim youths were seen mocking the Coronavirus in their videos, saying that they don’t need masks as their God will protect them.
