In letter to PM, RSS offshoot seeks ban on TikTok app

In a letter dated July 13, the SJM said India does not have any regulations to ensure that applications provided on the play store are monitored and illicit activity is prevented.

Swadeshi Jagran Manch, an offshoot of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, has written to Prime Minister Narendrs Modi seeking a direction to ban Chinese social media platforms like TikTok and Helo, citing concerns over unauthorized user data sharing.

Swadeshi Jagran Manch, an offshoot of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, has written to Prime Minister Narendrs Modi seeking a direction to ban Chinese social media platforms like TikTok and Helo, citing concerns over unauthorized user data sharing. (Bloomberg)

In a letter dated July 13, the SJM said India does not have any regulations to ensure that applications provided on the play store are monitored and illicit activity is prevented. “To prevent such applications from operating in India, we would humbly request the creation of a new law that requires testing and regulation to protect our national security as well as the privacy of Indian users from countries with inimical interests to India,” the letter says.

Until such a law is notified, all such Chinese applications should be banned by the ministry of home affairs, it has demanded.

“They under the cover of a social media platform run news, views, and opinion platforms,” SJM’s co-convenor Ashwani Mahajan said in the letter.