Indian Govt Issues Order to Ban 54 Chinese Apps, Know The Apps

NEW DELHI: The union government has issued fresh orders to ban over 54 Chinese apps terming them as a threat to the privacy and security of Indians.

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, news agency tweeted.

A number of these apps belong to the stable of large Chinese technology firms such as Tencent, Alibaba and gaming firm NetEase and are "rebranded or rechristened avatars" of apps that have been banned in the country beginning from 2020.

The ministry of electronics and IT-- which issued the latest ban order on the grounds that these apps were transferring sensitive data of Indians to servers in foreign countries such as China-- has also directed top app stores including Google's Playstore to block these applications. "The 54 apps have already been blocked from being accessed in India through the PlayStore," an official said.

Meity used its powers under Section 69a of the Information Technology Act, 2000 to enforce the latest order.

"On receipt of the interim order passed under Section 69A of the IT Act, following established process, we have notified the affected developers and have temporarily blocked access to the apps that remained available on the Play Store in India," Google said in a statement.

Since June 2020, the government has banned a total of around 224 Chinese apps starting with about 59 apps in the first round, including popular applications like TikTok, Shareit, WeChat, Helo, Likee, UC News, Bigo Live, UC Browser, ES File Explorer, and Mi Community.

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