In India, structural discrimination has long left the poor, the nonurban, women, Dalits, Muslims, and other religious minorities without an adequate voice. As Kian Vesteinsson notes in the Diplomat, the TikTok ban is right in line with India’s oppressive internet policies, which have historically affected residents of Jammu and Kashmir, dissidents, and anyone else the government doesn’t exactly care for. No surprise, in this jingoistic, technological skirmish between China and India, the ultimate impact of the TikTok ban falls most heavily on the marginalized. In its way, TikTok was a populist salve in a country where more than half the population lives in poverty and 5 percent lives in extreme poverty, where more than a quarter of people are illiterate, where various classifications beyond your control may disadvantage you throughout life. In this it was similar to YouTube, where people could feel free to express themselves without (as much) worry of the government censorship that has pressured so many other print and TV media outlets. The huge scale of the platform, meanwhile allowed TikTok to act as an untraditional media outlet. You can see why: The short, visual format is welcoming and easy to learn the app supported 15 different tongues in the country, transcending language and literacy barriers and it could also be used on cheaper, budget-friendly phones. In a country that contains such diverse, sprawling cultures and languages-as well as oppressive systems against those of different ethnicities, religions, castes, abilities, and social classes-TikTok achieved ubiquity, even transcending many of India’s societal divides. The ultimate impact of the TikTok ban falls most heavily on the marginalized.
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