The Supreme Court has directed the Madras HC to hear the objections against its interim and ex-parte order banning TikTok, reports LiveLaw. The SC was hearing a special leave petition filed by TikTok's owner Bytedance Technology, and posted the SLP for hearing on April 22. Bytedance has argued that it is an intermediary and therefore protected under the Safe Harbor provisions of the IT Act. Bytedance claims that only a minuscule percentage of videos on TikTok is flagged as inappropriate by users, and that the majority use it for personal entertainment and expression, and for "fun" and "amusing" videos. It is worth asking here whether user reports of violative content should equated with the actual volume of violative content; those with malicious intent and action, and those who are victims of it are least likely to report that they're abusing the platform. This holds true for (some of the) reasons for which Madras HC imposed the ban: child pornography, pedophiles, and exposure of Children to sexual predators. Bytedance also said that the singling out of TikTok is discriminatory and arbitrary since it is like any other platform, arguing that the ban is disproportionate and infringes upon freedom of speech and expression. CJI Ranjan Gogoi had last week refused to hear Bytedance's SLP hearing urgently. When contacted, Bytedance sent MediaNama the following statement: "As per the proceedings in the Supreme Court today, the Madras High Court will hear the matter on ex parte ad interim oder. The Supreme Court has listed the…
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