Attendees playing with Tik Tok’s app at the Jakarta launch party. Photo credit: Bytedance, modified by Tech in Asia.
Tik Tok, a popular app that allows users to make short music videos, has been banned in Indonesia, reported CNN Indonesia and Kumparan.
The Ministry of Communication and Information Technology confirmed the news in a statement. The block has been in place since this afternoon. While the app can still be downloaded, all the content in it cannot be viewed.
The ministry said that it banned the app because it contains negative videos that are deemed to be a bad influence on the youth. However, it added that the ban may be lifted if Tik Tok can clean up its platform.
Bigo, a widely used livestreaming app, was blocked in the Muslim-majority country in 2016. The move was reversed once it sanitized its content.
Public sentiment in Indonesia is turning against Tik Tok, which is popular among 13 to 15-year-olds, as it has clips of teens engaging in provocative behavior. One such video depicts a teen dancing. It then cuts to a dead body, apparently a relative of the teen.
Online petitions, one of which garnered over 125,000 signatures, are calling for the app to be blocked.
Known as Douyin in China, Tik Tok is developed by Bytedance, the same company behind popular Chinese news app Toutiao.
It’s not the first time the app has courted controversy. It has been found wanting in protecting the identity of minors, according to the South China Morning Post. In Hong Kong, some youths are going to dangerous extremes to gain attention from viewers.
Tik Tok has 150 million daily active users. Since launching outside of China in September 2017, it has become a top five ranking app in the “video players and editors” category on Google Play in 17 countries. It’s also the number one overall Android app in Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Vietnam. It is number four in Indonesia.
Chinese media apps are starting to dominate the world stage. Bigo, which was created by the founder of China-based social network YY, is a global phenomenon, topping app charts in Southeast Asia and beyond.
Editing by Eileen C. Ang and Judith Balea
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