Censorship of TikTok

[5] On 21 August 2023, Somalia's communications ministry announced a ban on TikTok (along with Telegram and 1xBet) citing the spread of propaganda and indecent content, but the call has not been enforced.

[6][7] In April 2022, a spokesman for the Taliban government stated that the app will be banned for 'misleading the younger generation' and that TikTok's content was 'not consistent with Islamic laws'.

[9] On 27 September 2020, citizens of Azerbaijan noticed social media restrictions across an array of platforms, including TikTok, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and others.

[10] According to Azerbaijan's Ministry of Transport, Communications and Technology, these restrictions were issued in an attempt to "prevent large-scale provocations from Armenia," during the longstanding Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

[12][13] In November 2018, the Bangladeshi government blocked the TikTok app's Internet access as part of Bangladesh's crackdown on pornography and gambling sites.

In June 2021, Law and Life Foundation, a human rights organization, issued a legal notice to the Bangladeshi government that sought the prohibition of "dangerous and harmful" applications such as TikTok, PUBG, and Free Fire, but failed to obtain a response.

In August 2020, the High Court encouraged the Bangladeshi government to prohibit "dangerous and harmful" applications such as TikTok, PUBG, and Free Fire to "save children and adolescents from moral and social degradation.

[17] On 3 April 2019, the Madras High Court, while hearing a PIL, asked the government of India to ban the app, citing that it "encourages pornography" and shows "inappropriate content".

[25] The ban was in response to a military clash between Indian and Chinese troops in disputed territory along their shared border between Ladakh and Western China.

[27][28] Apar Gupta, executive director of the Internet Freedom Foundation, said the censorship was absent from well-defined national security criteria and has "impacted more Indians than any before".

A venture capital investor said it was a populist "feel-good" step, referring to the ban, and that the world has the right to do what China has long done in its own country.

[45] The petition stated that TikTok's platform was being used to promote crime and glorified the use of drugs and weapons[45] in its short videos and called on the PTA to ban the app once again.

According to Sara Ali Khan, legal representative of the Punjab resident, the PTA announced that TikTok had not adequately proven their ability to moderate "immoral" and "indecent" content.

On 28 June 2021, the Sindh High Court Order urged the PTA to restore the ban on TikTok for the alleged "spreading of immorality and obscenity".

The PTA said in a tweet that they "will continue to monitor the platform in order to ensure that unlawful content contrary to Pakistan's law and societal values is not disseminated.

In May 2024, Manila 6th District Rep. Bienvenido Abante filed House Bill 10489 proposing the ban of TikTok and other "foreign adversary-controlled" social platforms.

On 2 July 2021, TikTok was included by Uzkomnazorat in the register of violators of the law on personal data and access to it from Uzbek IP addresses became impossible.

Rama cited the death of a teenager in a brawl linked to a conflict on TikTok and concerns over social media promoting youth violence.

[71] In March 2023, the Czech National Cyber and Information Security Agency (NÚKIB) issued a warning against TikTok, citing cybersecurity, privacy, and potential influence risks as threats to critical infrastructure and public institutions.

[73] On 29 March 2023, the Minister of Entrepreneurship and Information Technology Kristjan Järvan has announced that the use and installation of the TikTok app will be banned on smartphones issued by the state to officials.

In an interview with the daily Eesti Päevaleht, Järvan stated that the app will be removed from centrally managed smartphones and its installation will be prohibited from this month onwards.

[74] In 2022, French President Emmanuel Macron accused TikTok of censoring content and promoting online addiction among young people.

[75] In March 2023, France banned all "recreational applications", including TikTok and other apps such as Twitter, Instagram, and Netflix, or games such as Candy Crush on government employees' phones due to concerns relating to insufficient data security measures.

[78][79] On 21 April 2023, the National Cyber Security Centre issued an updated advice that TikTok should not be installed or used on official public sector devices.

[81] The Malta Information Technology Agency (MITA) blocked the TikTok app on all government devices unless users have a ‘Standards Plus’ internet package.

The recommendation has not been enacted into the politicians' work devices usage policy, citing "insufficient evidence" over collecting excess personal data by TikTok as a reason.

[86] In November 2024, Romania's telecommunications regulator called for TikTok to be suspended amid allegations of interference in the 2024 Romanian presidential election.

[89] In March 2023, the UK government announced that TikTok would be banned on electronic devices used by ministers and other employees, amid security concerns relating to the app's handling of user data.

[115][116] ByteDance challenged the federal law, which the Supreme Court of the United States agreed to hear as TikTok v. Garland on an accelerated timetable, with oral arguments held on 10 January 2025, nine days before the ban.

[137] On 17 March 2023, the New Zealand Parliamentary Service banned TikTok on devices connected to Parliament, citing cybersecurity concerns and advice from the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB), the country's signals intelligence agency.