India bans 59 Chinese-made applications, including TikTok

India’s Ministry of Information Technology (IT) has banned 59 Chinese apps, including TikTok, UC Browser, WeChat and Weibo Live.

India announced the ban, calling Chinese-made applications a threat to the country’s sovereignty, integrity, defence and public order.

According to the details, the decision was taken after the recent tensions between China and India in Ladakh and it is being termed as the biggest move so far against Chinese technology companies.

The statement said that there were concerns over the security and privacy of Indian citizens, as well as threats to the country’s sovereignty and security.

The Ministry of Information Technology of India has received numerous complaints from various sources, including numerous reports.

There were reports of misuse of various mobile apps on the Android and iOS platforms, which were stealing users’ data and illegally transferring it to servers outside India, the ministry added.

The Indian Cyber ​​Crime Coordinating Center under the Indian Ministry of External Affairs had sent recommendations to the Ministry of IT to block these apps.

Several representatives of the ministry have expressed concerns that allowing certain apps to continue to operate could jeopardize the security and privacy of citizens’ data, the statement said.

Between 2015 and 2019, Chinese companies, including Alibaba and others, invested more than  5.5 billion in Indian technology companies.

It should be noted that 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a clash between Indian and Chinese troops on June 15.

Pictures released by US space technology company Maxar Technologies show Chinese installations along the Galwan Valley.

Nathan Rosser, a satellite data expert at the Australian Institute for Strategic Policy, said the construction showed there was no prospect of a reduction in tensions.

It begins at the confluence of the Gulwan and Shyok river and is located east of the confluence of these rivers in the valley, which the two sides formally recognize as the Line of Actual Control.

Twenty Indian soldiers were killed in a clash between Chinese and Indian forces, the deadliest clash between the two countries’ forces in 45 years.

According to experts, the chances of a direct war between the two countries are very low, but it may take some time for tensions to subside.