In a significant development, the Union government has issued new orders banning over 54 Chinese apps, seeing them as a threat to Indian privacy and security.
According to the latest reports, India has banned 54 Chinese-made apps, including Sea Ltd.’s flagship game Free Fire, due to security concerns.
The apps banned by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology include those from major Chinese tech companies such as Tencent, Alibaba, and NetEase, as well as rebranded versions of apps already banned by India in 2020, according to the people, who asked not to be identified due to media rules.
In India, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) will formally publish a notification prohibiting the use of certain apps.
The 54 Chinese apps include Beauty Camera: Sweet Selfie HD, Beauty Camera – Selfie Camera, Equalizer & Bass Booster, CamCard for SalesForce Ent, Isoland 2: Ashes of Time Lite, Viva Video Editor, Tencent Xriver, Onmyoji Chess, Onmyoji Arena, AppLock, Dual Space Lite.
PUBG Mobile, TikTok, Weibo, WeChat, and AliExpress were among the Chinese apps banned by India last year.
The Centre issued an order under section 69A of the IT Act in November 2020, restricting access to 43 mobile apps. It stated that this move was taken in response to information that these apps are being used to engage in activities that are detrimental to India’s sovereignty and integrity, defence, state security, and public order.
India had previously barred access to 59 mobile apps on June 29, 2020, and on September 2nd, 118 more apps were banned under section 69A of the IT Act.
Meanwhile, the ministry of electronics and information technology, which issued the new prohibition order on the grounds that these apps were transmitting sensitive data of Indians to servers in foreign nations such as China, has ordered top app shops to block these apps, including Google’s Playstore. An official said, “The 54 apps have already been stopped from being accessed in India through the PlayStore.”
