Daily US Times: India has banned 59 Chinese apps, including highly popular TikTok and WeChat. The decision has left millions of users surprised and disappointed.
Indian government said the apps were “prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order”.
China expressed worried over the move and asked India to uphold the legal rights of international firms.
Experts say the decision is politically charged as the circumstances of rising tenstions between India and China.
Anti-China sentiments have been high in India since an incident in Ladakh border earlier this month. The incident left 20 Indian troops dead.
Earlier this month in the Himalayan region of Ladakh, where both countries have increased deployment close to the disputed border. The government issued directives to cancel or limit Chinese contracts with public sector companies and boycott Chinese goods soon emerged.
But the ban on the Chinese apps surprised many. The list includes the strategy game Clash of Kings, e-commerce apps Club Factory and Shein, microblogging platform Weibo and Alibaba’s UC Browser.
Authorities of these apps have said they are in talks with the Indian government, while China asked India to reconsider its decision.
Zhao Lijian, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, said: “We want to stress that Chinese government always asks Chinese businesses to abide by international and local laws-regulations. Indian government has a responsibility to uphold the legal rights of international investors including Chinese ones”.
What prompted the ban?
The Information and Technology ministry of India has said the ban was the result of “many complaints from various sources” about apps that were “stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users’ data in an unauthorised manner”.
Many of the Chinese apps have been accused over data privacy, and they have been accused of sharing sensitive information with the Chinese government.
US senators have even called for an investigation into TikTok- which is vastly popular in India. TikTok fiercely rejects such claims.
In a statement from Indian government says the compilation of data these apps have been collecting ultimately impinges upon the sovereignty and integrity of India, is a matter of very deep and immediate concern which requires emergency measures”.
This is not the first time Chinese apps have been banned in India. Alibaba’s UC Browser had come under the scanner in 2017 for allegedly leaking mobile data of Indian users.
In the same year, India’s defence ministry asked all armed personnel and officers to uninstall 42 Chinese apps it classified as “spyware”.
Here’s the list of all 59 Chinese apps banned by India
- TikTok
- Shareit
- Kwai
- UC Browser
- Baidu map
- Shein
- Clash of Kings
- DU battery saver
- Helo
- Likee
- YouCam makeup
- Mi Community
- CM Browsers
- Virus Cleaner
- APUS Browser
- ROMWE
- Club Factory
- Newsdog
- Beauty Plus
- UC News
- QQ Mail
- Xender
- QQ Music
- QQ Newsfeed
- Bigo Live
- SelfieCity
- Mail Master
- Parallel Space
- Mi Video – Xiaomi
- WeSync
- ES File Explorer
- Viva Video – QU Video Inc
- Meitu
- Vigo Video
- New Video Status
- DU Recorder
- Vault- Hide
- Cache Cleaner DU App studio
- DU Cleaner
- DU Browser
- Hago Play With New Friends
- Cam Scanner
- Clean Master – Cheetah Mobile
- Wonder Camera
- Photo Wonder
- QQ Player
- We Meet
- Sweet Selfie
- Baidu Translate
- Vmate
- QQ International
- QQ Security Center
- QQ Launcher
- U Video
- V fly Status Video
- Mobile Legends
- DU Privacy
You may read: Satellite images ‘show China structures’ on India border in Glawan valley