India has banned another set of 43 mobile apps for allegedly engaging in activities that are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of the country. The apps were blocked by the Ministry of Electronics and Information and Technology (Meity) through an order issued under section 69A of the Information Technology Act. This is another stride forward in banning of Chinese apps, which started with the first ban of Chinese origin apps in June this year.
The 43 apps that have been banned include some important names such as AliExpress, Alibaba Workbench, CamCard, and WeDate. The Indian government had ordered ban on Chinese apps for the first time on June 29, when 59 mobile apps including UC Browser and TikTok were pulled down from Google Play and Apple App Store in the country.
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, GoI (@GoI_MeitY) issued an order today under section 69A of the Information Technology Act blocking access to 43 mobile apps in India.
More details – https://t.co/l9pwJKk3un@PIB_India @MeityPib @rsprasad @SanjayDhotreMP
— Ministry of Electronics & IT (@GoI_MeitY) November 24, 2020
The second wave saw blacklisting of 118 prominent and lesser-known Chinese apps. Some prominent names seeing the doors then were PUBG Mobile, We Chat, and Baidu. These bans, according to the national government are in the “interest of national security.”
The internet space in India has been clouded with Chinese products. The leaders in the country’s technology industry have therefore been of the opinion of safeguarding the interest of the public from the risk of personal data loss. Thus these bans have been seen in a progressive light, also as an opportunity for homegrown companies to take advantage of the void created and the revenue stream opened.
