After former Attorney General of India Mukul Rohatgi, Congress leader and Sr. Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi refused to represent TikTok in any Court against the Indian government. He also represented his unwillingness to appear for any Chinese app, including Tik Tok, in the court of law.
On Wednesday 1 July 2020, he said, “I will not be appearing for TikTok in the Court. I had appeared for them in a case one year ago and won in Supreme Court. I do not intend to appear in this one.” A day before, he took to Twitter and said, “What kind of revenge are we taking by banning these Chinese apps when our soldiers have been martyred, Sahib?”
Earlier, former AG Mukul Rohatgi had said, “It does not feel right to appear for a Chinese company in view of the current tensions.” Meanwhile Sr. advocate Aman Singh tweeted, “I was also requested through a junior lawyer to appear for TikTok which I have flatly refused.”
On 29 June 2020, the Indian government had banned 59 apps most of which were operated by Chinese companies or had some links with Chinese data servers. The action was taken after the government felt that the Chinese apps were “engaged in activities which are prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India, defense of India, the security of the state, and public order”. Although, the government clarified that the ban is interim and all the concerned companies will be provided with an opportunity to clarify their stance.
The ban came amid a military face-off between the Indian Army and the People’s Liberation Army in Galwan Valley in the Union Territory of Ladakh. However, the face-off turned violent on the night of 15-16 June 2020, wherein, 20 Indian soldiers, including a Colonel, were martyred and, according to Indian reports, about 50 casualties took place on China’s side. Though casualties have been acknowledged by the Chinese government, yet no official figure has been released by it regarding the number of deaths.
Popular apps such as UC Browser and Tik Tok are included in the list of 59 banned apps. The list includes other apps such as Helo, Likee, Cam Scanner, SHAREit, WeChat, Vigo Video, Mi Video Call- Xiaomi, Clash of Kings as well as e-commerce apps Club Factory and Shein.
TikTok India’s chief, Nikhil Gandhi, said, “Tik Tok continues to comply with all data privacy and security requirements under Indian law and has not shared any information of our users in India with any foreign government, including the Chinese government.”
“Further if we are requested to in the future we would not do so. We place the highest importance on user privacy and integrity. Tik Tok has democratized the internet by making it available in 14 Indian languages, with hundreds of millions of users, artists, storytellers, educators, and performers depending on it for their livelihood, many of whom are first-time internet users,” he added.
