iWorld
TikTok ban to see influencer spillover onto YouTube & social spaces
KOLKATA: The recent ban on Chinese social media platform TikTok in India sent shockwaves across the country's TikTok community. The platform, which leverages viral, user-generated content, has more than 120 million users as recorded in June 2020.
TikTok has emerged as a viral phenomenon in India, providing the power of digital content creation and virtual stardom to many in India. The country is also the largest market for the app outside China. Currently, TikTok influencers command a sizeable following, benefitting from lip dub, stunts and quickie content on the short video format platform.
"The TikTok ban will lead to a boom in influencers and viewers onto other video-based platforms and homegrown competitors. We at Bisbo India, expect a surge in influencers and viewers to hit YouTube, Instagram and Sharechat," explained Bisbo India founder and creator Shakir Ebrahim.
"TikTok works because of its short content length. Recently, TikTok users had begun working with informative and educative content (including explainers). I look forward to how they'd synergise their short video sensibilities to YouTube," he added.
Ebrahim also talked about how the ban on TikTok would fuel similar, homegrown startups. "TikTok had hooked its specific junta. Platforms like Mitron, Chingari or Roposo would be an easier adjustment for them."
This is not the first time the app has faced public ire and legislative action. India had banned the platform in April 2019, when an Indian court ruled that the app could expose children to sexual predators, pornography and inappropriate content. TikTok had successfully appealed against the move, convincing the court it had taken steps to safeguard against such dangers. However, recently it has clarified that it is not going to take any legal route.
iWorld
Telcos push for unified rules as spam shifts to OTT platforms
Over 80 per cent fraud moves online, operators seek common framework.
MUMBAI: The spam may have left your phone network but it hasn’t left you alone. India’s telecom operators are once again dialling up the pressure for a unified regulatory framework, warning that fraud is rapidly migrating to internet-based platforms where oversight remains far looser. According to industry communication, a leading operator has written to multiple arms of the government including the Department of Telecommunications, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Ministry of Finance arguing that tighter controls on traditional telecom networks are inadvertently pushing bad actors towards over-the-top (OTT) communication platforms.
The concern is not new, but the framing has sharpened. What was once an industry grievance is now being positioned as a consumer protection issue. Operators say that tackling spam in silos no longer works, as fraudsters seamlessly shift across platforms, exploiting regulatory gaps. The result: a moving target that traditional safeguards struggle to contain.
Executives point to a clear shift in fraud patterns. OTT platforms are increasingly being used for phishing links, impersonation scams and bulk unsolicited messaging, with industry estimates suggesting that over 80 per cent of spam activity has now migrated online. In this environment, the lines between telecom networks, messaging apps and financial fraud are blurring fast.
At the heart of the industry’s demand is a call for a technology-neutral regulatory framework, one that applies consistently across telecom and internet-based communication services. Operators argue that the absence of uniform safeguards, such as sender verification systems, robust spam filters and clearly defined accountability mechanisms, has created enforcement blind spots that fraudsters are quick to exploit.
The proposal is straightforward but far-reaching. Telcos are pushing for baseline anti-fraud measures across all communication platforms, alongside faster response systems and deeper coordination between ministries. Given the interconnected nature of telecom networks, digital platforms and financial systems, they argue that fragmented oversight only weakens the overall defence.
The broader issue is regulatory arbitrage, the ability of bad actors to hop between platforms based on which is least regulated at any given time. Without harmonised rules, operators say, efforts to curb fraud risk becoming a game of whack-a-mole.
As digital communication continues to expand, the debate is shifting from who regulates what to how consistently it is regulated. For now, telecom operators are making their case clear: in a world where spam travels freely, regulation cannot afford to stay fragmented.
