Alleging that the addictive app causes mental health issues among children and is used to spread communal hatred, Darvesh, through her legal counsel Advocate Ali Kaashif Khan Deshmukh, filed a Public Interest Litigation
Petitioner Heena Durvesh
A Jogeshwari-based mother approached the Bombay High Court on Monday seeking a ban on the video-sharing app, TikTok. Heena Darvesh, 31, is a housewife and mother of three children aged 11, 10 and 5, who has been unable to rid them of their addiction to TikTok.
Alleging that the addictive app causes mental health issues among children and is used to spread communal hatred, Darvesh, through her legal counsel Advocate Ali Kaashif Khan Deshmukh, filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL).
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Advocate Ali Kaashif Khan Deshmukh
"I fear for the security of my children," said Darvesh. "They are not able to concentrate on studies. This is not just my complaint; I'm doing this on behalf of each and every mother who worries about her children."
She said that it has been next to impossible to get her children off the application. "They do not listen to me. Even if I don't give them their phones, they use their friends' phones to record videos."
'This will help parents'
"I must rid my children of this addiction," she said. "Some parents and families are themselves so addicted to the app that they do not care what their children are doing. They don't realise what is behind all the fun that they seem to be having on the surface."
When asked about strong views only about TikTok and not other social media applications such as Facebook and Instagram, Darvesh said, "My children aren't very addicted to Instagram and Facebook, to be honest. But I have been seeing them use TikTok a lot."
In her petition, Darvesh has also mentioned two FIRs registered in Mumbai in July following a controversial video/audio that allegedly provoked religious enmity. She also pointed out that no action has been taken yet in those cases.
Deshmukh, on the other hand, said, "Facebook and Instagram at least provide news. Ministers and celebrities share knowledgeable content there. But TikTok is different. This application is made only for dance and music videos. We are a developing country and people should focus on education."
"Because of this app, an 18-year-old is acting like a 26-year-old, and an eight-year-old is acting like an 18-year-old," said Deshmukh.
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