Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of India
said in a statement On Monday, some mobile apps reportedly received many complaints about the abuse and transmission of user data to servers outside India.
“The compilation of this data, mining, and the consequences of India’s national security and defense are a very profound and urgent concern that ultimately requires emergency measures that affect India’s sovereignty and integrity,” the ministry said. has listed 59 apps, including leading Chinese apps that will be subject to the ban.
Although the Indian government’s statement does not mention its name from China, the ban comes from the fact that military tensions between the two countries continued to rise after the deadly border clashes that caused the deaths of at least 20 Indian soldiers earlier this month. Many Indians called for boycotting Chinese goods and services, especially from China’s dominant technology industry.
“The government has been a strong choir to take firm action against practices that harm Indian sovereignty and the privacy of our citizens in the public sphere.” Video game Clash of Kings, among other popular Chinese apps on the list, messaging app WeChat, social network Weibo and photo app CamScanner.
The highly popular video platform TikTok, owned by Chinese technology giant Bytedance, has approximately 120 million users in India and makes the country one of its largest markets.
A TikTok spokesperson said “setting up local government teams in countries like India is” critical to our global success. ”
“The ByteDance team of nearly 2,000 employees in India is committed to working with the government to demonstrate our commitment to user safety and the country in general,” the statement said. Said.
This is not the first time that TikTok has been in trouble with the Indian government. The practice was briefly blocked in India after a court ruled that it could expose children to sexual predators, pornography and cyberbullying. The practice was restored a week after the court successfully appealed the decision.
While India’s diplomatic tensions with China are starting to have a huge impact on business and technology, it may be easier to make a complete separation. China dominates the world’s second largest internet market in India, with nearly 600 million users in both hardware and software. Chinese companies like Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo and OnePlus
give account More than half of India
smart phone marketaccording to industry figures and Chinese technology giants
Ali Dad (FATHER) and
Tencent (TCEHY) They are important investors in some of the country’s most valuable initiatives.
However, the ban will be “a blow to the Chinese application industry losing a strong base outside of his home country”.
by research company Canalys.
CNN’s Pamela Boykoff and Kaya Yurieff contributed to this report.
