TikTok pulled 16mn videos from Indian users in 2019’s 2nd half

New Delhi, July 9 (IANS) TikTok removed 16 million videos from Indian users in the last six months of 2019 for violating its content policies, the short video-sharing platform said in a transparency report on Thursday.

The total number of videos removed globally during the same period stood at 49 million, according to the report.

The report also revealed that TikTok received a total of 302 requests from India and the platform complied with 90 per cent of the requests. With 100 requests, the US came second to India in terms of number of requests.

The number of videos that TikTok removed globally represented less than 1 per cent of videos uploaded during the six-month period, The Verge reported.

Compared to the 49 million videos removed by TikTok, YouTube pulled around 14.7 million videos during the second half of 2019.

TikTok said it did not receive any takedown requests or user information requests from China.

“We do not and have not removed any content at the request of the Chinese government, and would not do so if asked,” a TikTok spokesperson was quoted as saying by The Verge.

India recently banned TikTok, along with 58 other China-linked apps, over national security concerns.

“TikTok continues to comply with all data privacy and security requirements under Indian law and have not shared any information of our users in India with any foreign government, including the Chinese Government,” Nikhil Gandhi, Head of TikTok India, said in a statement following the announcement of the ban by the Indian government.

“Further if we are requested to in the future, we would not do so,” he added.

–IANS

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