Time's up: TikTok to shut operations in India after permanent ban

 According to sources, the scaling back will occur in two batches over the next few weeks

Owned by Chinese technology giant ByteDance, TikTok will be scaling back its India operations, following the government making the seven-month-long ban permanent.

“It is deeply regretful that after supporting our 2,000-plus employees in India for more than half a year, we have no choice but to scale back the size of our workforce. We look forward to receiving the opportunity to rela­unch TikTok and support the hundr­eds of millions of users, artists, storytellers, educators, and performers in India,” said a spokesperson for TikTok.According to sources, the scaling back will occur in two batches over the next few weeks. People involved in the ongoing projects will be retained until their completion. ByteDance employees also said the company had handed out appraisals and bonuses after the ban last year, and the decision to make the ban permanent was a ‘rude shock’.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology had asked for an interim ban on 59 Chinese mobile applications (apps) in June last year, including TikTok, SHAREit, UC Browser, and SHEIN, calling them a ‘security threat’. The government invoked its powers under Section 69A of the Information Technology (IT) Act and relevant provisions under IT Rules, 2009, in doing so.

Last week, the ministry made that ban permanent. “We have worked stead­fastly to comply with the Govern­ment of India order issued on June 29, 2020. We continually strive to make our apps comply with local laws and regulations and do our best to address any concerns they have. It is, therefore, disappointing that in the ensuing seven months, despite our efforts, we have not been given a clear direction on how and when our apps could be reinstated,” the TikTok spokesperson added.