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Indian government lifts TikTok ban, says it can return to the App Store

Last week, regulators in India forced Apple to remove the viral TikTok video sharing app from the App Store one inappropriate content concerns. Now, however, an Indian state court has moved to lift the ban.

Indian regulators initially expressed concern over TikTok presenting inappropriate content to minors. ByteDance, the developers of TikTok, said at the time that it completed a full review of the content generated by TikTok users, removing over 6 million videos that violated its terms and conditions.

Nonetheless, despite that crackdown, the Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology made a formal request that Apple remove TikTok from the App Store in India. Apple complied with the decision on the same day.

As reported by Reuters today, an Indian state court has reversed the decision from earlier this month following a plea from ByteDance. With this decision, TikTok can make its return to the App Store.

In a statement to TechCrunch, ByteDance explained that it is grateful to see the change in India and remains committed to India:

We are glad about this decision and we believe it is also greatly welcomed by our thriving community in India, who use TikTok as a platform to showcase their creativity. We are grateful for the opportunity to continue serving our users better. While we’re pleased that our efforts to fight against misuse of the platform has been recognised, the work is never “done” on our end. We are committed to continuously enhancing our safety features as a testament to our ongoing commitment to our users in India.

India has become a crucial growth market for TikTok. During the first quarter of 2019, the app added 188 million users worldwide – with India accounting for 88.6 million of those users.

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Avatar for Chance Miller Chance Miller

Chance is the editor-in-chief of 9to5Mac, overseeing the entire site’s operations. He also hosts the 9to5Mac Daily and 9to5Mac Happy Hour podcasts.

You can send tips, questions, and typos to chance@9to5mac.com.

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