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Tag: ByteDance

  • HC dismisses Bytedance’s plea, directs it to deposit $11 million in dues

    HC dismisses Bytedance’s plea, directs it to deposit $11 million in dues

    NEW DELHI: In a major setback for TikTok developer ByteDance's India operations, the Bombay high court has dismissed its plea to unblock its bank accounts frozen by Indian authorities in an alleged case of tax evasion.

    The bench of justices SP Deshmukh and Abhay Ahuja, however, granted Bytedance the leeway to operate its bank accounts in HSBC and Citibank after depositing the dues allegedly owed by the company to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) authorities.

    The court has directed Bytedance to deposit around $11 million that tax authorities believe the tech company owes. The company would need to keep that amount blocked in a state-run bank and cannot use it for any other purpose.

    ByteDance has submitted that it does not owe the tax demanded by the Indian government and does not agree with the tax authority's decision to freeze its accounts. It further appealed that it needed access to the bank account in order to disburse salaries to its employees in India.

    Counsel for the Union government opposed the plea, stating that no interference was warranted from the court at this stage. Following the ban on its top moneymaker, TikTok, in India, tax authorities were apprehensive that due to failing business, Bytedance will "run away". Hence, the freezing of the firm's bank accounts was undertaken to safeguard the interests of the tax authorities.

    In mid-March, GST authorities had ordered HSBC Bank and Citibank in Mumbai to freeze accounts of ByteDance India as it probed some of the firm's financial dealings. The Chinese software developer challenged the move in court, saying the freeze amounts to harassment and was done illegally.

  • India’s freeze on bank accounts is harassment, ByteDance tells court

    India’s freeze on bank accounts is harassment, ByteDance tells court

    New Delhi: Video sharing app TikTok's parent company,ByteDance has told the Bombay high court that the government's decision to freeze its bank accounts in a probe of possible tax evasion amounts to harassment and was done illegally, Reuters reported on Sunday.

    The Chinese technology company had reduced its Indian workforce in January amid uncertainty over its future business in the country and its short-lived foray into one of the biggest markets. The decision came months after the government announced a ban on its popular video app TikTok which had amassed hundreds of millions of users in India. The ban was announced following a border clash between India and China.

    Reuters had reported that an Indian tax intelligence unit had ordered HSBC and Citibank in Mumbai to freeze bank accounts of ByteDance India in March, as part of its probe of the company’s financial dealings. The Chinese firm challenged the freeze in Bombay high court. The court declined to grant ByteDance immediate relief last Wednesday and listed the case for next hearing on 6 April.

    ByteDance India also told the court it has a 1,335-strong workforce, including outsourced personnel, and the account freeze has impacted the release of their March salaries. In the 209-page court filing lodged on 25 March accessed by Reuters, the Chinese company told the court that the "authorities acted against the company without any material evidence and gave no prior notice, as required by Indian law, before such drastic action". It further added, that “blocking accounts during the process of investigation amounts (to) applying undue coercion. It is intended, improperly, to harass the petitioner.”

    The Beijing-headquartered company is also facing global scrutiny over TikTok’s data collection practices.

  • Bombay HC grants no relief to ByteDance in tax evasion case

    Bombay HC grants no relief to ByteDance in tax evasion case

    KOLKATA: TikTok’s parent company ByteDance continues to remain in limbo as Bombay high court granted no relief in the case where the company challenged Indian authorities’ decision to freeze the its bank accounts.

    According to a Reuters report, the court heard the plea on Wednesday. Despite ByteDance counsel Prakash Shah submitting that the company was bleeding and needed to withdraw funds for operational expenditures like staff salaries and rent, the court gave no relief.

    Shah also added that four of the company’s bank accounts have been frozen. The next hearing in the matter is set for 6 April.

    According to media reports, In mid-March, authorities ordered ByteDance India's accounts at Citibank and HSBC to be blocked because of alleged evasion of certain taxes in online advertising dealings between the ByteDance unit in India and its parent entity in Singapore, TikTok Pvt Ltd. The Chinese tech company moved to court asking to quash the directive as it fears that the move will hit Indian operations hard.

    In January 2021, ByteDance decided to cut down its Indian workforce amid the uncertainty over its biggest business TikTok’s future in India. Following the political conflict between India and China, the Centre imposed a ban on a number of Chinese apps including short-video app TikTok last June.

  • ByteDance moves to court over blocking of bank accounts in India

    ByteDance moves to court over blocking of bank accounts in India

    KOLKATA: Indian authorities have reportedly blocked bank accounts of ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok. The Chinese tech company has moved to court asking to quash the directive as it fears that the decision will hit Indian operations hard.

    According to a Reuters report, at least two bank accounts held by ByteDance have been frozen due to alleged tax evasion. Quoting sources, the report mentioned that ByteDance India’s accounts in Citibank and HSBC Bank were ordered to be blocked in mid-March.

    Moreover, the authorities also directed the abovementioned banks to stop ByteDance India from withdrawing funds from any other bank accounts linked to its tax identification number. The Bombay high court has listed the case between ByteDance and the Indian government for hearing on Wednesday.

    “At ByteDance, we are committed to abiding by local laws and regulations. While we disagree with the decision of the tax authority in this matter, we will extend our full cooperation to the government," ByteDance said in a statement as quoted by several reports.

    In January 2021, ByteDance decided to cut down its Indian workforce amid the uncertainty over its biggest business TikTok’s future in India. Following the political conflict between India and China, the Centre imposed a ban on a number of Chinese apps including short-video app TikTok last June.

  • Bytedance elevates Abhishek Karwar to head of global creative & emerging markets – user growth

    Bytedance elevates Abhishek Karwar to head of global creative & emerging markets – user growth

    NEW DELHI: TikTok developer Bytedance has elevated Abhishek Karwar to head of global creative and emerging markets – user growth. Karwar had joined the organisation in December 2019 as head of user growth.

    During his two decades in the media and entertainment industry, Karwar has experience managing and scaling up digital businesses and heading product development, marketing and product marketing functions on a global level. He is well-versed in building platforms, negotiating partnership deals and executing go to market strategies.

    The NIIT graduate considers his specialities to be in the field of short format videos, OTT technologies, digital media, broadcast media, business strategy.

    Prior to his role at TikTok, Karwar had a brief stint as head of sales and marketing at Intuition Intelligence. He has also been associated with Mirriad, Zee Entertainment Enterprises, Times Group and ITC Infotech.

    Karwar’s elevation comes at a time when Bytedance is downsizing its workforce in India after a months-long ban on its moneymaker, TikTok. Undeterred by this short-lived foray in one of its biggest markets, the Chinese app developer is expanding its operations worldwide, and has particularly ramped up recruitment in Singapore. The Beijing-headquartered company has also come under global scrutiny over TikTok’s data collection practices.

  • TikTok selects Oracle in the US after rejecting Microsoft offer

    TikTok selects Oracle in the US after rejecting Microsoft offer

    KOLKATA: TikTok has chosen Oracle for a business partnership after abandoning talks with Microsoft. The Bytedance owned short-video app has chosen Oracle as a technology partner.

    According to reports, the terms of the deal are still evolving. It is not clear yet if Oracle would take an ownership stake in TikTok’s US operations. The decision comes at a time when the social media app is running out of time to close a deal in the US within the tight schedule given by the Trump administration. It has to block a deal within 20 September.

    Earlier on Sunday, tech giant Microsoft, another bidder for TikTok’s US operation announced that the latter has rejected its offer. “ByteDance let us know today they would not be selling TikTok’s U.S. operations to Microsoft,” Microsoft said. “We are confident our proposal would have been good for TikTok’s users, while protecting national security interests,” it added.

    However, the future of the deal is subject to approval from Washington and Beijing. TikTok’s US stake sell has turned to be more difficult since Beijing issued new restrictions or bans in late August on tech exports, requiring companies to seek government approval.

    TikTok has more than 175 million downloads in the US. While the administration alleged TikTok could misuse user information, the company has continuously refuted any claim of providing any US user data to the Chinese government. 

  • Microsoft in talks with ByteDance to acquire TikTok in the US

    Microsoft in talks with ByteDance to acquire TikTok in the US

    NEW DELHI: Tech giant Microsoft yesterday confirmed that it has held talks with Chinese technology company ByteDance to acquire its social app TikTok in the US. Microsoft said in a statement that it will keep working with the US government on a deal and intends to conclude talks by 15 September.

    Microsoft stressed that it "fully appreciates the importance" of addressing president Donald Trump's concerns. A full security review of the app will be conducted, the company added.

    Microsoft said it was looking to purchase the TikTok service in the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, and would operate the app in these markets.

    The tech firm added that it "may" invite other American investors to participate in the purchase "on a minority basis."

    "Microsoft is committed to acquiring TikTok subject to a complete security review and providing proper economic benefits to the United States, including the United States Treasury," the company said, adding that it will "move quickly" to talk with ByteDance "in a matter of weeks."

    "During this process, Microsoft looks forward to continuing dialogue with the United States government, including with the president," the company added.

  • TikTok clarifies: Don’t intend to take legal course against ban

    TikTok clarifies: Don’t intend to take legal course against ban

    KOLKATA: The government of India under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act recently imposed a ban on 59 Chinese apps including TikTok. Several reports said that the video-sharing platform could take a legal route. However, the company has refuted such reports saying that it has no plans to pursue such action. 

    "There have been statements in the press concerning the possibility that TikTok might pursue legal action regarding the directive by the government of India. We have no plans to pursue such action. We are committed to working with the government to address its concerns. We comply with the laws and regulations of the government of India. Ensuring the data sovereignty, security and privacy of our users has always been and will continue to be a top priority for us," said a TikTok spokesperson.

    The ministry of information technology said that the apps are engaged in activities “which is prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order." The ministry mentioned that it received many complaints from various sources including several reports about the misuse of some mobile apps available on Android and iOS platforms for stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users’ data in an unauthorised manner to servers which have locations outside India.

    Earlier TikTok India head Nikhil Gandhi said that it is in the process of complying with it. He also mentioned that it had been invited to meet with concerned government stakeholders for an opportunity to respond and submit clarifications.

  • ByteDance to shut down Vigo apps in October

    ByteDance to shut down Vigo apps in October

    MUMBAI: Chinese colossal ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok has announced that it will shut down two of its apps in India Vigo Video, Vigo Lite. By 31 October, the apps will shut down in India while those have already shut operations in Brazil and Middle East.

    "Users will be informed about the app shutting via in-app notifications with detailed instruction on downloading their personal data or deleting their account permanently, including videos, personal information, chat history, and favorite list," the app said while mentioning that users can export their account to TikTok.

    While the company has not stated any reason behind the shutdown, it is being speculated that the company wants to focus on TikTok in the country which has a humongous base compared to Vigo. 

  • India tops list in requesting TikTok for content restrictions, user info access

    India tops list in requesting TikTok for content restrictions, user info access

    MUMBAI: India has topped the list in making the highest number of legal and emergency requests to takedown specific content and to access user information, TikTok said in its first-ever Transparency Report for the first half of 2019 (1 January 2019 to 30 June 2019).

    A short-video sharing application in its report claimed that India made over 99 legal requests and eight emergency requests to TikTok, taking the total requests to 107. Followed by the United States of 79 requests, of which 68 are legal and eleven for emergency requests.

    ByteDance owned TikTok in its report said that at least 47 per cent of India’s requests have been complied with by the platform, whereas it has obliged to 86 per cent of requests made by the United States.  

    The chart of content restricts missed China’s name. “We did not receive any requests from countries other than those listed in the chart below,” the transparency report said.

    TikTok, the China-based application touts over 1.3 billion installs worldwide, has recently been banned by the United States army amid security concerns. Similarly, the platform, which has gained popularity in India, has also come under scrutiny over objectionable content.

    Meanwhile, TikTok it received over 3345 copyrighted content takedown notices from across the world, of which 85 per cent content was removed, the report said. “We honour valid take-down requests based on violations of copyright law, such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).”

    Like TikTok, the social media giant Facebook, along with search-engine giant Google have also been coming out with transparency report in a timely manner that specifies takedown requests.