Just after the last ban, sources in the Ministry tells that “the problem is with the operational ethics of certain apps. This is an ongoing process”.
The government has banned 47 Chinese apps in India. Last month 59 Chinese apps had been banned by the government to “protect national interest and security” — including the most popular TikTok app. Now, almost 50 more apps have been banned, for operating as clones of the previously banned apps.
The government had earlier banned apps including CamScanner, SHAREit, and UC Browser, among others. That ban was announced under the provisions of Section 69A of the Information Technology Act.
The 47 apps that have been banned by the latest decision of the government were operating as the clones of the 59 apps that were banned last month, according to a tweet posted by DD News.
Some top gaming Chinese apps including PUBG Mobile may be a part of the new list of banned apps. However, the government is yet to release the details pertaining to the development.
“The Ministry of Information Technology has received many complaints from various sources, including several reports about misuse of some mobile apps available on Android and iOS platforms for stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users’ data in an unauthorised manner to servers which have locations outside India,” the government had said in a statement on June 29.
“The compilation of these data, its mining and profiling by elements hostile to national security and defence of India, which ultimately impinges upon the sovereignty and integrity of India, is a matter of very deep and immediate concern, which requires emergency measures,” it said.
“On the basis of these and upon receiving of recent credible inputs that such Apps pose threat to sovereignty and integrity of India, the Government…has decided to disallow the usage of certain Apps, used in both mobile and non-mobile Internet enabled devices,” it said.
