Indian government created quite a bang after banning 59 Chinese apps that were leading in India, including apps like TikTok, CamScanner and others, on the grounds of privacy concerns.?
No sooner had the nation coped with the previous Chinese apps ban, than the Indian authorities have announced a ban of 47 more Chinese apps today.
This is according to a notification issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. The newly banned 47 apps were essentially clones of the original banned Chinese apps that were spread across the app stores in India.
The new Chinese 47 apps ban has been issued since these apps were doing the same thing as the original banned Chinese apps under a new name. The authorities haven¡¯t revealed the list of the banned apps as of now however, reports on the internet are revealing that some apps that had recently surfaced have gone missing.
Apple Like Bigo Lite, TikTok Lite, ShareIt Lite, Likee Lite, Snack Video among others are no longer visible on Google Play Store.?
A recent report by ET had highlighted that a list of over 250 apps has currently been prepared by the authorities and these apps are under strict scrutiny, while also stating that government may choose to ban all, some or none of the apps on the list.? Apps in this list include the beloved game PUBG as well as other popular apps by Xiaomi.?
Last month, IT ministry announced the ban stating that the ban "engaged in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, the security of the state, and public order."
In a conversation with ET with regards to the ban of over 250 Chinese apps, a MeitY official stated that the Indian government will follow a proper process before undertaking any ban which involves a committee to make such decisions.?
The committee includes representatives from ministries of home affairs, electronics and IT, information and broadcasting and law and justice as well as officials from CERT-In.