TikTok remains banned in India, as confirmed by TechCrunch on Friday. Despite rumors of a potential comeback after more than five years, a TikTok spokesperson clarified that the ban imposed by the Indian government is still in place, and the platform is not accessible in the country.
According to a TikTok spokesperson, the Indian government’s directive to ban the Chinese-owned social media platform is still being followed, and access to TikTok has not been restored in India. The ban, implemented under Section 69A of the IT Act, has not been revoked or altered, as confirmed by a senior official at India’s IT Ministry speaking anonymously to TechCrunch.
Earlier reports from various Indian media outlets suggested a potential return of TikTok in India after the platform’s website briefly became accessible to some users. This development raised speculation about the ban being lifted, but it was later revealed to be a result of network-level misconfiguration, similar to a previous incident in September 2022 when certain users gained access to TikTok temporarily.
