TikTok needs to be regulated, observes Orissa High Court

In a recent observation passed by the Orissa High Court, Justice SK Panigrahi mentioned that, “Tik Tok mobile app, which often demonstrates a degrading culture and encourages pornography besides causing paedophiles and explicit disturbing content, is required to be properly regulated so as to save the teens from its negative impact”.

The observation came in a judgment on a bail plea in a case in which the husband had allegedly committed suicide after receiving intimate TikTok videos of his wife with another person. The victim’s husband ended his life in July 2019 by hanging himself from the ceiling fan of his bedroom. She was alleged to have been in a relationship with the co-accused. 

He ruled that “Of late, cyberbullying activity like the instant case has reared its ugly head and swept away so many innocent lives through many of its ugly manifestations. The Information Technology Act, 2000 does impose an obligation upon such companies to take down content and exercise due diligence before uploading any content, but India lacks a specialised law to address the crime like cyberbullying.”

The court observed that India lacks a specialised law to adjudicate matters of cyberbullying. Certain sections of the Information Technology Act 2000 (IT Act) like 66E, 67, and 67A stipulate punishment for the violation of privacy, publication, and circulation of obscene or “lascivious” content under the Act. However, they do not suffice to contend the specific matter. 

The High Court has put the social responsibility on the appropriate government to put regulatory burden on those companies proliferating from applications like TikTok.