India bans 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, UC Browser and others

The Government of India on Monday banned 59 Chinese mobile apps, including TikTok, UC Browser and others. The govt invoked its power under Section 69 A of Information Technology (IT) Act.
 

This comes amid rising tensions between India and China after the Galwan Valley clashes in Ladakh on June 15 that left 20 Indian soldiers dead.
 

The govt said the apps are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order.
 

"Over the last few years India has emerged as a leading innovator when it comes to tech advancements, but there have been rising concerns on data security of 1.3 billion Indians," the order noted.

The govt order also noted that it has received credible inputs of Chinese apps posing a threat to sovereignity of India.

The Information Technology Ministry in a statement said it has received many complaints from various sources, including several reports about misuse of some mobile apps available on Android and iOS platforms for "stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users' data in an unauthorised manner to servers which have locations outside India".

TikTok (which has over 200 million users in India), Likee and Vigo Video are popular short video creation platforms, while Club Factory and Shein are e-commerce platforms that were looking at expanding their presence to compete with larger rivals like Myntra.

The list of apps that have been banned also include Helo, Likee, CamScanner, Vigo Video, Mi Video Call Xiaomi, Clash of Kings as well as e-commerce platforms Club Factory and Shein.
 

After the clashes, the two sides held at least three rounds of talks at the Corps commander level to explore ways to bring down tension between the two sides.