Indian government bans 47 more Chinese apps

The Indian government banned 47 more Chinese apps, after 59 China-based apps were banned in June-end

Bengaluru, First Published Jul 27, 2020, 1:41 PM IST | Last Updated Jul 27, 2020, 1:41 PM IST

After India banned 59 apps with Chinese links as the nation argued they engaged in activities "prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity" of the country, the government has banned 47 more apps. These apps are clones of the previously banned apps.

An official notification regarding the ban and the list of applications will be released soon, said Republic TV.

The ban came in the backdrop of the stand-off along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh with Chinese troops. The 59 apps with Chinese links blocked by the government include TikTok, WeChat and UC Browser.

Union IT and law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad had said, "We banned Chinese apps to protect data of countrymen; it was a digital strike.”

Earlier, weeks after this phenomenal move by the Indian government, as many as 25 US Congressmen had written a letter to President Donald Trump to follow in the footsteps of India.

The letter praised India for the “extraordinary” step it took in June to ban the Chinese affiliated-apps, including TikTok, due to national security concerns.

It further added, “The US shouldn’t trust TikTok or other Chinese-affiliated social media websites/apps to protect Americans’ data, privacy or security. We urge you to take strong action to stop CCP’s sophisticated espionage campaign against our country and protect our national security.”

US National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien had said, “India has already banned those apps, as you know. And if they lose India and the United States, they lose some western European countries, that takes a big tool away from the espionage work or the surveillance work of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party).”

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