Rumors are that TikTok will be making a comeback in India after a huge gap of two years of its ban, according to the sources, ByteDance the parent company of TikTok is looking for a partner in India.
On June 29, 2020, the Indian government banned 54 Chinese apps along with the famous short video sharing platform TikTok for allegedly sharing user data with the Chinese govt. Now, after almost two years, it is reported that TikTok is seeking for a comeback.
According to a report published in Economic Times, the parent company is in talks with the Mumbai-based realty major Hiranandani Group, which already owns a Data center business named Yotta Infrastructure Solutions.
Additionally, the group has started to make two more data centers in Greater Noida, NCR (Delhi) spending a total of Rs. 2000 crore. ByteDance is afraid of what happened in 2020, the ban cost them around $6 Billion in total, according to the owner of the Chinese app, and it had also ended over 2500 jobs in India.
Aware of that, this time the parent company is looking for a local partner to set its business once again in the country. As published in Economic Times, a senior government official said to the reporter, “There have been no formal talks with us yet. But we have been informed of the plans. As and when they come to us for approvals, we will examine their request”.
If TikTok wants to make a comeback in India, they have to follow the rules and regulations of the Indian Government. That means all the user data should be stored in India and for that, they have to set up data centers here.
Along With TikTok, the famous gaming company Krafton (PUBG) was also banned from doing business in India, but the gaming company used the strategy and changed its name. Krafton revoked its partnership with Tencent games (a China-based gaming company) as well as established its data center in India to re-enter the Indian market.
ByteDance is thinking to use the same strategy to get into the Indian market. India was one of their biggest markets till 2020, after the ban the owner had said that the ban was costing them 1 million users per day. If the return of TikTok is going to happen in near future, this will very pleasant news for many people.
