HC lifts suspension of TikTok 'influencers' for alleged hate-mongering

The Bombay High Court has lifted the suspension of the TikTok accounts of three 'influencers', nine months after they were blocked for allegedly posting a "hate-mongering" video.

The ban was lifted last week by the division bench of Acting Chief Justice B P Dharmadhikari and Justice N R Boarkar.

The TikTok accounts of Faisu, Hasnain and Shadan were blocked in July 2019 as per the direction of the cyber cell of Mumbai Police based on a complaint. It was alleged that the video uploaded by them could cause enmity between religious groups and harm peace and harmony of the society.

The trio had been granted anticipatory bail by the high court in August 2019. However, their accounts continued to remain suspended till date causing a dent to their ability to earn a livelihood, their lawyers Ranbir Singh and Priyanka Khimani said.

The high court, in its order, held that the cyber cell did not have the power to direct TikTok to block the influencers' accounts under Section 91 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

TikTok is a social media app that lets users create and edit their own short videos and share them with people.