TikTok releases first transparency report, India made maximum content removal requests

The Indian government made a total of 110 requests to TikTok for accessing user content and removing content from its platform, the transparency report released by the app has revealed.

India made the highest number of requests to TikTok followed by the US, TikTok’s first transparency report has revealed. (REUTERS)

TikTok has released its very first transparency report, which contains a list of countries that made requests for accessing user information. It also contains the list of countries that made requests for removing specific content. Guess which country topped the charts? India.

According to the report shared by TikTok, India not only made the highest number of requests for accessing user information, but it also made the highest number of requests for taking down specific content. The country made a total of 110 requests in the first half of 2019, of which 99 were for accessing user content, while 11 were for taking down content from its platform.

The only other country that came closer to India's record is the United States, which made a total of 74 requests in the past year dating from January 1, 2019, to June 30, 2019. Of These, 68 requests were for accessing user content and six were for removing content.

Requests made by government bodies to TikTok in the first half of 2019 (January 1 - June 30, 2019) (TikTok)

Requests made by government bodies to TikTok in the first half of 2019 (January 1 - June 30, 2019) (TikTok)

Interestingly, the report says China made no requests to the company in the aforementioned time period. "We did not receive any requests from countries other than those listed in the chart below," the transparency report said.

The report comes at a time when the app is increasingly getting scrutinised by the governments around the world including the US. Recently, the US Army banned soldiers from using the app over security concerns. In India, while the platform has become very popular, it has also come under scrutiny over objectionable content.