In another major digital strike on China, the Government of India (GoI) on Monday, July 27, banned 47 more apps in addition to 59 Chinese applications banned last month. Reports said that the 47 banned Chinese apps were operating as clones of the 59 apps earlier banned.
The list of these 47 Chinese applications banned by the Indian government will be released soon.
Few applications including TikTok Lite, Helo Lite, ShareIt Lite, Bigo Lite and VFY Lite, are unavailable on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. According to the Telecom Ministry, the apps were found to be operating despite the ban via these versions. They have been removed from application stores, several media reports said.
Now, India has prepared a list of more than 250 Chinese applications, which includes apps linked to Alibaba, that the government will examine for any user privacy or national security violations. Reportedly, the list also includes Tencent-backed gaming app PUBG.
Decision to ban apps taken after security review
The decision to ban the 47 Chinese apps was taken after a security review by the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology. In a written statement, the Ministry of Telecom confirmed that these apps' continued availability and operation, directly or indirectly, was illegal as well as an offence under the Information Technology Act and other applicable Acts, news agency PTI reported.
This list of banned Chinese apps will likely include some top gaming Chinese applications. The Chinese applications, that are being reviewed, have allegedly been sharing data with the Chinese agencies.
Last month, the Ministry of Information Technology announced that it has decided to block 59 Chinese mobile apps, "which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order".
