Indian TikTok users awoke Tuesday to a notice from the popular short-video app saying the company was working to comply with an India government ban on dozens of Chinese apps amid a military standoff between the two countries.
While service in India was suspended, the ban was largely symbolic since the apps can't be automatically erased from devices where they've already been downloaded. The move was a response to a border clash with China where 20 Indian soldiers died earlier this month, digital experts said.
"They want to send a message. This is a decision based on a geopolitical situation,"said digital rights activist Nikhil Pahwa.