The Supreme Court of India has given its lower court an ultimatum on the ongoing dispute over Chinese short video app TikTok – make a decision by Wednesday or lift the interim ban.
The Madras High Court requested the Indian central government to ban TikTok earlier this month, finding that it contained “inappropriate content”. It was asked to make a ruling on the case by April 24.
Meanwhile, Google and Apple have, at least temporarily, removed TikTok from their app stores in India. It’s a hugely popular app in the country and has more than 120 million monthly active users in India.
The Supreme Court’s ultimatum came after TikTok’s parent company ByteDance revealed its plan to invest more than USD 1 billion over the next three years in India.
ByteDance executive Helena Lersch told Indian media that the company is “disappointed” by the ban but still remains “bullish” of its prospects in India.
“We remain committed to our Indian users. As a company, we are looking to invest USD 1 billion over the next three years in India,” she said, according to local news agency PTI.
ByteDance, the world’s most valuable startup, is also looking to increase their staff count to 1,000 people by the end of the year, according to Lersch.