India Bans 47 More Chinese-Origin Mobile Apps; Mainly Clones Of Previously Banned 59 Apps

Central government has decided to ban 47 more mobile apps, which are either clones of variants of those 59 Chinese apps that were earlier prohibited by the authorities, Indian Express reported.

As per sources cited in the report said that "the problem is with the operational ethics of certain apps. This is an ongoing process. If apps qualify under the same grounds of operational ethics, then they will also come under the scanner".

'Operational ethics' here refer to data which is supposedly being shared with the Chinese government, the sources added.

The latest apps to be banned were found to be cloning the previously banned apps, as per officials cited by news agency IANS.

The development comes days after the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) directed the 59 banned apps to strictly adhere to the orders or face serious action in case of violation.

The Ministry has written to all the companies concerned and said that making the apps available, directly or indirectly, would violate IT Act and other laws.

Last month on 29 June, the government had banned 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, WeChat and UC Browser and Xiaomi’s Mi Community over national security concerns amid the border tussle in Ladakh which led to the death of 20 Indian soldiers in the Galwan Valley clash with Chinese PLA troops.

“These measures have been undertaken since there is credible information that these apps are engaged in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order,” MeitY’s statement had said.

According to the ministry, the move would safeguard the interests of crores of Indian mobile users.

Other Chinese apps in the banned list were Club Factory, SHAREit, Likee, Mi Video Call (Xiaomi), Weibo, Baidu, BIGO LIVE and more.

(With inputs from IANS)