VNG sues TikTok over alleged copyright infringement in Vietnam

HANOI, Aug 25, 2020, Reuters. TikTok is finding itself entangled in yet another controversy as the popular short-video app is facing a law suit for alleged copy-right infringement in Vietnam, says a Reuters report, quoting unnamed sources, e27 reported.

According to this report, local tech giant VNG, which has business interests in online gaming, music streaming and messaging apps, has accused the Chinese app of using audio tracks owned by its subsidiary Zing without adequate licences.

The lawsuit wants TikTok to remove all the songs taken from Zing records and also seeks for damages of over 221 billion dong (US$9.5 million).

TikTok is quite popular across the world, including in Vietnam where it had 10 million users as of August. However, the firm has of late faced challenges in many of its key markets, including India and the US.

In India, the government imposed a ban on TikTok, along with many other Chinese apps, in July over concerns that these firms were engaging in activities that threatened “national security and defence of India, which ultimately impinges upon the sovereignty and integrity of India”. This move came in the wake of a border dispute between the two countries.

The app is also mired in legal controversy in the US after the President imposed a ban on the app earlier this month over concerns that it could pass American users’ data to the Chinese government, something ByteDance has denied doing.

However, TikTok is challenging the US ban in the court, saying the move was motivated by politics, not national security.