TikTok India Comeback Rumours Quashed by Company

TikTok India Comeback Rumours Quashed by Company

Reports about TikTok’s supposed return to India started making rounds on Friday, but the company has now officially denied them. The short-video app, owned by ByteDance, has been banned in the country since June 2020 following concerns flagged by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) over national security and data privacy.

TikTok Confirms Ban Still in Place

Speaking to TechCrunch, a TikTok spokesperson clarified that the platform remains blocked in India, dismissing the chatter about its unban.

“We have not restored access to TikTok in India and continue to comply with the Government of India’s directive,” the spokesperson said.

A senior MeitY official, who chose not to be named, also reiterated that the government had not taken any steps to restore access to the platform.

What Sparked the Rumours?

On Friday, several users noticed that the TikTok website briefly became accessible from within India. Members of the TechnoVazone team were also able to open the site, reach the login page, and even attempt to sign up. However, while submitting an OTP, a banner appeared saying:

“TikTok is banned in India and we are working on it.”

This sudden accessibility led many to speculate that TikTok was staging a comeback. However, experts suggest the glitch was likely caused by a network-level misconfiguration.

Interestingly, this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. Back in 2022, the app briefly became accessible in India when certain internet service providers mistakenly allowed connections to TikTok servers.

As of now, TechnoVazone can confirm that the TikTok website is once again inaccessible across Indian networks.

Why Was TikTok Banned?

TikTok, along with dozens of other Chinese apps, was banned in June 2020 under Section 69A of the IT Act. This provision empowers the Indian government to block public access to online services if they pose risks to sovereignty, integrity, national security, or diplomatic relations.

The ban came amid escalating tensions between India and China. Since then, TikTok has been searching for ways to re-enter the Indian market. In 2022, ByteDance reportedly explored a partnership with the Hiranandani Group to revive the app, but talks did not progress. Had it worked out, it might have opened doors for other banned Chinese apps from companies like Alibaba and Tencent to return as well.

Bottom Line

For now, TikTok remains off-limits in India, and despite the occasional technical blip or rumour, there’s no sign of an official comeback.