Business Cycle of TikTok App in India

Acknowledgement

We deeply express our profound gratitude and whole hearted thanks to our beloved L.J Institute of Management Studies – 5 Year Integrated MBA (IMBA), Ahmedabad, who provided necessary facilities, guidance and endless encouragement, which helped us soundly.

In this regard I owe my deep sense of acknowledgement to all those who share their remarkable time on this report to make it rich. Their guidance needful and timely help is memorable; otherwise completion of this project would not be possible.

Executive Summary

TikTok is the world's leading destination for short mobile videos.

TikTok empowers everyone to be a creator directly from their smart phones, and is committed to building a community by encouraging users to share their passion and creative expression through their videos. In 2018, TikTok was one of the most downloaded apps in the world. TikTok is available worldwide for iOS and Android.

Due to concern of availability of pornographic content, exposure of children to sexual predators, persons being made subject to mockery or pranks, violation of privacy and its addictive tendency among youngsters Madras high court requested to Indian Government to ban TikTok app.

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Later the Indian Government order Google and Apple store to remove the app from their stores so Indians cannot download the app.

Defining the Problem

  • Children whose age is 13 years are usually attracted by TikTok app to make short videos, memes etc...
  • Because of TikTok and other similar apps the future of the youngsters and children are in danger.
  • A 24 year old Chennai citizen allegedly committed suicide due to the harassment by TikTok users for posting videos of him in female attire.
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  • A 19 year old Delhi resident is accidentally shot dead by his friend while posing with a pistol for a TikTok video on a car ride.
  • An individual files a plea in the Madras high court to ban TikTok over the circulation of pornography on its platform and exposure of children to sensitive content.
  • The main problem is that the existing users being able to use the platform even as downloads were blocked. 

Historical Background

TikTok app was launched as Douyin in China in September 2016 and introduced to the overseas market as TikTok one year later. TikTok merged with musical.ly in 2018; the application gained popularity and became the most downloaded app. As of 2018, it is available in over 150 markets, and in 38 languages. In July 2018, the app had more than 500 million users globally.

It is an iOS and Android media app that allows users to create short video of themselves which often feature music in the background. To create a music video with the app, users can choose background music from a wide variety of music genres, edit with a filter and record a 15 second video with speed adjustments before uploading it to share with others on TikTok or other social platforms

TikTok’s growth hit New Peak

Chinese short video app TikTok saw another 75 million new downloads via App Stores and Google Play Stores worldwide in December, up 75 percent compared with the same month in 2017, according to data from app analytics firm Sensor Tower. India contributed the most growth as downloads in this country grew from 1.3 million in December 2017 to 32.3 million in December 2018.

Revenues from in-app purchases were also up, increasing to US$6 million, representing a 53% year-on-year growth, according to Sensor Tower. TikTok has been a rare success case for Chinese tech firms winning users globally. Some attribute this to its content-centered strategy, while some argue that it became so popular simply because it brought fun back to social media with its innovative short-video format.

The app, owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, is wildly popular because of its easy-to-use system for recording videos overlaid with audio from mainstream music and movies. Given Bollywood’s massive influence on pop culture in India, it’s no surprise that TikTok with its collection of audio clips from the country’s film industry is a hit with people across the country. The fact that you don’t have to sign in to watch videos also contributes to its massive download count.

TikTok app that lets you create 15-second dubbed videos are on a rapid growth curve. The app crossed 1 billion downloads last month, according to a report by analytics firm Sensor Tower. Intriguingly, a quarter of those downloads are said to come from India, making it the biggest contributor to the app‘s growth

Downfall of TikTok

TikTok is the world's leading destination for short mobile videos. TikTok empowers everyone to be a creator directly from their smart phones, and is committed to building a community by encouraging users to share their passion and creative expression through their videos. In 2018, TikTok was one of the most downloaded apps in the world. TikTok is available worldwide for iOS and Android.

Due to concern of availability of pornographic content, exposure of children to sexual predators, persons being made subject to mockery or pranks, violation of privacy and its addictive tendency among youngsters Madras high court requested to Indian Government to ban TikTok app. Later the Indian Government order Google and Apple store to remove the app from their stores so Indians cannot download the app.

The order of the Madras High Court gives a list of its reasons for the ban, including a concern of availability of pornographic content, exposure of children to sexual predators, persons being made subject to mockery or pranks, violation of privacy and its addictive tendency among youngsters.

Court also stated that by becoming addicted to TikTok App, and similar apps, or cyber games, the future of the youngsters and mindset of the children are spoiled.

Generating Alternatives

  • Ministry of Electronics and IT (Information Technology) should propose new rules and regulations for any mobile app.
  • The company should respond quickly for any kind of legal issues that could arise from the nature of the content on the apps.
  • Parents are first educators to child and they can help in prevention of negative consequences by scheduling the time for children, effective utilization of extra time and least making them to use minimum phone
  • The simplest way to prevent addiction is to simply uninstall the app, delete the negativity and encourage the positive behaviour

Preferred Alternatives

  • Company should not provide any kind of false or misleading advertisement to customers for gaining popularity
  • The company should ban those accounts or users that provide any kind of nudity.
  • The company should regulate and form their policies that is legally accepted and user friendly.
  • Television channels are also telecasting TikTok app videos which are also liable to be prohibited.

Solution

  • The Madras High Court had requested a ban on the app, claiming that it hosted inappropriate content that can be potentially dangerous for impressionable young minds.
  • The Indian government has ordered Android and Apple play stores to remove the Chinese app so that Indians can’t access it.
  • TikTok allows users to create and share short videos with special effects which are hugely popular but many have warned that the content is inappropriate.

Lesson Learned

  • Majority of the teens are playing pranks, making short videos sharing with split screen to the strangers.
  • The children who use this type of application are vulnerable and may expose them to sexual predators.
  • It is stated that memes, lip – synced songs, comedy videos are made using TikTok app. As long as this TikTok app is used for comedy and humour there should not be any problem.
  • The app is mostly played by the teenagers and young people and it has proved to be addictive one.
  • By becoming addicted to TikTok app and similar apps or cyber games the future of the youngsters and mind set of the children are spoiled.

Conclusion

On 3 April 2019, the Madras High Court while hearing a PIL had asked the Government of India to ban the app, citing that it encourages pornography. The court also noted that children using the app were at risk of being targeted by sexual predators. The court further asked broadcast media not to telecast any of those videos from the app.

On 17 April 2019, both Google and Apple removed TikTok from Google Play and the App Store. As the court refused to reconsider the ban, the company stated that they were confident about the existing users being able to use the platform even as downloads were blocked. They also claimed that they had removed over 6 million videos that violated their content policy and guidelines. Android users can still get the app through APK route using website.

Bibliography

  1. Divyanshu Dutta Roy (2019, April 18) APA citation. TikTok Download Not Available Any More. Retrieved from https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/tik-tok-ban-tiktok-download-not-available-any-more
  2. Jashodhara Mukherjee (2019, April 18) APA citation. Indians are Desperately Googling 'How to Download TikTok' After App Ban. Retrieved from https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/indians-are-desperately-googling-how-to-download-tiktok-after-app-ban-2106151.html
  3. Song Jingli (April, January 25) APA citation. TikTok’s growth hit new peak. Retrieved from https://kr-asia.com/tik-toks-growth-hit-new-peak
Updated: Jan 25, 2024
Cite this page

Business Cycle of TikTok App in India. (2024, Jan 25). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/business-cycle-of-tiktok-app-in-india-essay

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