Bengaluru: India made the highest number of requests for user information and content removal to TikTok, according to the popular short-video platform’s first transparency report.
TikTok, owned by China-based ByteDance, said the Indian government sent 107 requests for user information in the first half of 2019. Of these, 99 were legal requests and eight were emergency requests. A total of 143 user accounts were mentioned in these requests.
The platform said it complied with 47% of these requests from India. India made also 11 requests to remove content from nine user accounts during the January-June period, TikTok said, adding that it removed or restricted eight user accounts and four pieces of content.
The country that came next to India in making such requests to Tik-Tok was the US. Of its 85 requests in the first half 2019, 79 were for accessing user information and six for removing content.
TikTok doesn’t have a presence in China. However, ByteDance has a similar app, Douyin, which is specific to that country.
TikTok said like other tech companies, it was occasionally presented with requests from various official bodies, such as government agencies or law enforcement officials.
“These include requests to take down content deemed to be in violation of local laws, or to provide information related to accounts under certain defined circumstances, such as to assist in a criminal investigation or emergency request,” TikTok said in a statement.
Global technology giants including Google, Facebook and Twitter release transparency reports on a regular basis to share data on content removal and government requests for information. Indian social media startup ShareChat also started releasing such information in October.
Any information request that TikTok receives is reviewed for legal sufficiency, to determine whether, for example, the requesting entity is authorised to gather evidence in connection with a law enforcement investigation or to investigate an emergency involving imminent harm, the statement said.
Additionally, TikTok reviews such content removal requests from governments closely and evaluates the specified content in accordance with its community guidelines and local laws, it added.
According to Facebook’s latest transparency report, the Indian government sent the social media giant 22,684 legal and emergency requests for data in the first six months of last year. Only the US had sent more such requests to Facebook seeking information on its citizens.
During the January-June period, Facebook restricted 1,250 pieces of content in India in response to legal requests from law enforcement agencies, court orders and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, it had said.
Source: Economic Times
