Chennai, April 3: The Madras High Court on Wednesday issued a directive to the Centre asking it to prohibit the downloading of 'Tik Tok', the Chinese video sharing mobile application being widely used users across India. The bench of Justice N Kirubakaran and Justice SS Sundar said the mobile app is "dangerous" for children, making them vulnerable to sexual predators online.

The court was hearing a petition which sought a ban on Tik Tok citing its adverse impact on minor social media users. The petitioner's counsel argued before the bench that the application promotes "pornography", apart from other illicit forms of behaviour which is degrading the culture. TikTok ‘Safety Centre’ Is Now Available in 10 Indian Languages.

The bench asked the Centre to submit a reply stating whether it could constitute enact a statue like Children's Online Privacy Protection Act in the United States, which protests the right to privacy of children on social media.

The court also took cognizance of media reports which supports the petitioner's demand. The bench took note of a 15-year-old girl committing suicide after her parents did not her to use Tik Tok. Another report pointed towards the death of a man who fall into a waterfall while recording a selfie video on the application.

"Before many tragic incidents would occur, the government has to take appropriate steps," the court said, asking the Centre to take immediate action. The next date of hearing the petition has been fixed as April 16.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 03, 2019 10:59 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).