TikTok to close India business following permanent ban

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TikTok logo (Image credit: TikTok)

What you need to know

  • A new report says ByteDance will shutter TikTok in India, following the news it would be permanently banned in the country. .

A new report says ByteDance will shutter TikTok in India, following the news it would be permanently banned in the country.

TikTok is reportedly going to close its entire business in India, following a government announcement that a ban issued last year on the app would be extended permanently.

From Business Standard:

Chinese social media firm Bytedance, which owns Tiktok and Helo apps, has announced the closure of its India business following continued restrictions on its services in the country.Tiktok's global interim head Vanessa Pappas and vice president for global business solutions Blake Chandlee in a joint email to employees have communicated the decision of the company that it is reducing team size and the decision will impact all employees in India.

The executives expressed uncertainty about the company's comeback to India but expressed hope to do so in times to come.

The email said that TikTok was "confident in our resilience" and desire to return to the country "in times to come."

A town hall on Wednesday was held within Bytedance to communicate the closure of its India business.

The app was blocked along with other Chinese-made apps like WeChat and PUBG last year as the result of a long-running dispute between India and China. Reports earlier this week confirmed that the Indian government had extended the ban permanently, from that report:

Chinese apps including TikTok and PUBG will remain banned in India following a review, the government has told developers.As reported by PTI over the weekend:The government has sent notices to Chinese apps, including Tiktok, that the order to block them will be continued.

Stephen Warwick
News Editor

Stephen Warwick has written about Apple for five years at iMore and previously elsewhere. He covers all of iMore's latest breaking news regarding all of Apple's products and services, both hardware and software. Stephen has interviewed industry experts in a range of fields including finance, litigation, security, and more. He also specializes in curating and reviewing audio hardware and has experience beyond journalism in sound engineering, production, and design.

Before becoming a writer Stephen studied Ancient History at University and also worked at Apple for more than two years. Stephen is also a host on the iMore show, a weekly podcast recorded live that discusses the latest in breaking Apple news, as well as featuring fun trivia about all things Apple. Follow him on Twitter @stephenwarwick9