Are Chinese video apps violating the Indian law?

The article by Nilesh Christopher was published in Economic Times on November 30, 2018.

Chinese video apps have cracked the Bharat code, but that may not be such a good thing. TikTok, Kwai and LIKE have been downloaded by millions of smartphone users in small-town India who are using them to share personal videos, away from the glare of scrutiny that falls on more mainstream social media platforms.

The apps have benefited mightily from the short-video craze that’s taken hold among preteens and adolescents but this is putting them in danger from predators, experts said. Given the mature nature of much of the content and the age of users, the content on these apps could be in violation of the law, they said.

ET reviewed more than 20 Chinese video apps that dominate the mobile entertainment network of tier-2 and tier-3 cities mostly thanks to titillating videos, suggestive notifications, risqué humour and raunchy content.

TikTok, the popular lip-sync app, is filled with 15-second clips of meme-friendly content featuring its youthful users miming to their favorite songs. The videos range from the harmless to the explicit, depending upon the users followed. The app has gone viral, having racked up close to 100 million downloads and with 20 million monthly active users in India.

The Chinese video apps have their own regional stars such as TikTok’s Awez Darbar, who has 4.2 million fans on the platform. TikTok pays creators anywhere between Rs 5,000 and Rs 50,000 per video, depending upon the kind of content and the sphere of influence, said people with knowledge of the matter.

While all the platforms carry a disclaimer stating that they are not directed at children, their target audience encompasses preteens and adolescents in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, experts said.

“If (these apps) are operating in a manner that under-18 children use it, then one needs to check what are the other safeguards they have built for parental consent--this is definitely something that has to be looked into,” said Supratim Chakraborty, associate partner at law firm Khaitan & Co. “From a national security standpoint, children fall under the sensitive category. Today, there is a lack of law to put forward strict compliance.”

Another expert said the user profile violates the stated policy of the apps and IT law.

“Be it TikTok, LIKE, Kwai or any of these video apps, (they) have a significant number of young girls, boys and preteens using the application,” the person said.

Live-streaming applications such as Bigo Live and UpLive focus more on personal interaction but these appear to skirt dangerously close to breaking the law, exposing children to nudity and possibly those who seek to coerce or groom underage users into committing explicit acts.

Users are encouraged to explore further through the notifications. “Press here! Surprising gift waiting for you,” is one sent by Uplive when a user logs on. “Sweet is waiting for you in MeMe live <3, Watch magical girl’s LIVE, Come see me now! Sonam who you’re following posted a new video,” are a few other notifications from the app. These notifications are accompanied by a thumbnail of scantily clad women and an ‘invitation’ to open the app. Users get three to five of these every time they clear the screen.

The apps are available in Indian languages, making them easier to use than Facebook or Instagram. However, the privacy policies are in English, making them that much more difficult to understand if users in such locations want to take the trouble of checking the terms and conditions.

Despite the rapidly growing user base, apps like TikTok don’t have a grievance redressal officer in India. The government is insisting on this for all major social media platforms.

A government official said users should flag concerns over such apps so that the state can take action.

“Even if people upload obscene content with their consent, it still does not absolve (you) of the crime,” said a senior bureaucrat with the ministry of electronics and information technology. “One is ignorance, then there is a burgeoning of technology leading to all these. Somebody must start reporting these cases, be it a victim or a well-wisher of the society for the government to take note.”

As with Indian apps, apart from generic privacy policies that aren’t available in local languages, the Chinese ones don’t have layered consent—allowing users to opt out of certain obligations if they wish to do so. ShareChat is the only Indian regional social media app that has its privacy policy in 10 regional languages.

A reading of the privacy policies of the Chinese apps also suggests that they hoover up a vast quantity of data with a one-click, opt-in button. This includes sharing location, contacts, allowing audio and video recording and full network access.

Apps such as Nonolive do not mention any India-specific clauses in their privacy policy. A few like video chat app Tango comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the European privacy law that has stipulated 13+ as the age of use.

TikTok, which has faced temporary bans in other countries in the past, is an exception with a specific India clause offering limited rights to users. It has an exhaustive 5,000-word privacy policy outlining the data collection, processing and sharing practices it follows. TikTok previously sparked outrage in Hong Kong for not protecting the privacy of children under 10, exposing their identities and uploading inappropriate content.

The Chinese apps pose several potential risks, said Swetha Mohandas, policy officer at the Center for Internet and Society, an advocacy group.

“The draft DP (data protection) Bill in the current stage provides greater responsibility on data fiduciaries to maintain the privacy of the individual and the security of the data,” she said. “There are a lot of questions that these apps pose with respect to the Bill, some of them being the security, the data storage provision, the personal data of children, and most importantly that these apps might have recordings that might be sensitive personal data.”

Most of these apps including TikTok explicitly state that though they have appropriate technical and organisational measures in place, “they cannot guarantee the security of your information transmitted through the platform”. Dubsmash said that it complies with local laws and allows users only above 14 to use its app. The other apps ET reached out to did not respond to queries.