Just weeks after India banned 59 Chinese apps, it has banned 47 more apps
Bengaluru: Just weeks after India banned 59 apps with Chinese links as India 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, adds Republic TV.
The ban came in the backdrop of the stand-off along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh with Chinese troops. The 59 apps with Chinese links blocked by the government include TikTok, WeChat and UC Browser.
Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union minister had said, "We banned Chinese apps to protect data of countrymen; it was a digital strike.”
US praises India’s move
The decision by the Narendra Modi government to ban as many as 59 Chinese apps in the wake of Galwan clashes has sent a strong message to China that India will not kowtow to its demands and will offer stiff resistance to its aggressive attempts.
Weeks after this phenomenal move by the Indian government, as many as 25 US Congressmen had written a letter to the 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. Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) systemic campaign to collect and illicitly transmit user data to the Chinese govt is not unique to Indian consumers,” it read.
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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