India Banned 59 Chinese Apps Including Tiktok, Likee, And Wechat

To retaliate against the attack on the Indian army two weeks ago at the poorly demarcated India-China Line of Actual Control, India banned 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, WeChat, Likee, ShareIT, and UC browser. The blocking of multiple social media platforms and entertainment has been done to counter the ultimatum that is being posed by these applications to the security and sovereignty of the country.  This news has been made official via press release on Monday.

There have been multiple prominent applications that have played a major role in the daily life of the general population of India. The government’s decision by which it leads to India banned 59 Chinese apps including TikTok; these applications are causing engagement in several activities that are prejudicial to the integrity and sovereignty of India, security, and defense of state and public order.

Banning of numerous Chinese applications in India

As India banned 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, this might backfire on the recent de-escalation of tension between both countries. The banning of these applications comes under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act that includes procedures and safeguards for blocking access to information by the public. The government has also received multiple complaints that personal data on Indian users are being transferred overseas without proper authorization.

This move as India banned 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, could provide to become a significant blow towards China’s Digital Silk Route goals and objectives, reducing the values on the companies in the International market. It is expected that other countries across the world might follow India’s cue in following this action as India banned 59 Chinese apps including TikTok.

All aspects have been put under consideration before the finalization of the decision that India banned 59 Chinese apps including TikTok and other major applications that are used daily across the country. As these apps have been working in the country for a long period of time, there are several privacy issues concerning these applications now due to the escalating tensions between China and India.

According to the statement provided by the Ministry of Electronics and IT, multiple complaints regarding stealing personal and private data has been made along with misusing this information without proper consent via several mobile applications made by China. These applications are using private information and transmitting to an overseas server in an unauthorized manner to be used in various illegal dealings.

Banning recommendation from the Ministry of Home Affairs

The stealing of private data via multiple Chinese applications have been done that have caused immediate and deep concern and is requiring emergency measures to combat the issue due to which India banned 59 Chinese apps including TikTok. The usage of these applications in India is directly influencing the defense and security of the country. Numerous concerns are being raised on the data security of around 130 crore population of India.

India banned 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, which has been recommended by the Cyber Crime Coordination Centre of India. An activist group in India called Internet Freedom Foundation is against this recent action. According to them, the implementation of Section 69A is not legitimate, and the group is asking for disclosure and transparency.

There are legal issues in the privacy and security of Indian data. But it can be resolved through proper regulatory processes by objective and evidence-based processes. No comments regarding the news that India banned 59 Chinese apps including TikTok has been given by ByteDance, the owner of multiple apps that have been shut down, including Alibaba, Helo, and TikTok. The rival company for TikTok, InMobi, is hopeful that is a new act passed by the Indian government would help their video app excel in the country.

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List of Chinese apps banned in India