Indian Bans on Apps Hurts China

IMR Reporter — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 04:39:00 +0000

India banned 54 Chinese apps that pose threat to the country’s security, the ministry of electronics and information technology said today. “These 54 apps allegedly obtain various critical permissions and collects sensitive user data. These collected real-time data are being misused and transmitted to servers located in hostile country,” the ministry said in a statement.

The list of banned apps include – Sweet Selfie HD, Beauty Camera – Selfie Camera, Garena Free Fire – Illuminate, Viva Video Editor, Tencent Xriver, Onmyoji Arena, AppLock and Dual Space Lite. India has blocked 321 apps since border tensions with China in May 2020.

In June last year, India banned 59 Chinese mobile applications including the widely-used social media platforms such as TikTok, WeChat, and Helo citing a threat to the nation’s sovereignty and security. The apps were banned under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said.

The first round of bans was announced in June 2020, days after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a clash with Chinese troops at Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh. The tension had escalated following a deadly clash in the Galwan Valley on June 15 that year.

The eastern Ladakh border standoff between the Indian and Chinese militaries erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong Lake areas and both sides gradually enhanced their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers as well as heavy weaponry.

“It is good if we are attacked by the enemy, since it proves that we have drawn a clear line of demarcation between the enemy and ourselves. It is still better if the enemy attacks us wildly and paints us as utterly black and without a single virtue; it demonstrates that we have not only drawn a clear line of demarcation between the enemy and ourselves but achieved a great deal in our work.” Thus spake Chairman Mao. China is no longer in Mao’s thrall and follows Xi Jinping thought these days. Still, the notion that it is good to be attacked by the enemy retains its essential sense: it shows you make an impact that calls for countermeasures.

True, the initial ban that India imposed on a clutch of smartphone apps by Chinese companies, including TikTok, the short video app that is both a threat to US tech companies dominant in the business and a shield for them against the charge of unassailable monopoly, did not cause any serious damage to Chinese business. But, expanding the scope of the bans and persisting with them do, it would appear, make an impact.

At a press conference on 17 February, the spokesman for China’s commerce ministry, Gao Feng, expressed concern about India’s ban on Chinese apps.

saying that it hoped India would treat all foreign investors, including Chinese firms, in a transparent, fair and non-discriminatory manner. “We hope India can take concrete measures to maintain the sound development momentum of bilateral economic and trade cooperation,” Gao Feng, spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce, told a press conference.

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Rattled China raises apps ban issue during meeting – Indian Military Review

IMR Reporter — Tue, 14 Jul 2020 12:58:21 +0000

New Delhi : Days after India banned 59 Chinese mobile apps, China raised the issue during a bilateral meeting with New Delhi held recently.
“During a meeting at the diplomatic level, the Chinese side raised the issue of ban on its mobile applications in India,” government sources told ANI.
The Indian side made it very clear to the Chinese that the action was taken in view of the security issues and it did not want the data-related to its citizens to be compromised, sources said.
India had recently banned 59 Chinese mobile applications including the widely-used social media platforms such as TikTok, WeChat, and Helo within view of the threat to the nation’s sovereignty and security.
The majority of the apps banned in the June 29 order were red-flagged by intelligence agencies over concerns that they were collecting user data and possibly also sending them “outside”.
The government had stated that the applications are engaged in activities “prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order.”
The ban has been imposed under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act read with relevant provisions of the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking of Access of Information by Public) Rules 2009.
After the ban, the Chinese foreign ministry had reacted to the ban saying that it was India‘s duty to protect the legal rights of international investors.

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Chinese apps | IMR

Indian Bans on Apps Hurts China

Rattled China raises apps ban issue during meeting – Indian Military Review