(TibetanReview.net, Feb14’22) – Following recommendation by its Home Ministry, India has on Feb 14 issued a ban on 54 more Chinese apps, saying these applications posed a threat to national security. The new list of banned apps is said to mostly include clones of apps that were already banned in India since 2020.
The apps banned by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology include those belonging to large China tech firms such as Tencent, Alibaba and NetEase, and are re-branded versions of apps already banned by India in 2020, reported the livemint.com Feb 14, citing people speaking anonymously, citing rules on speaking to the media.
The latest banned Chinese apps have been stated to include Beauty Camera: Sweet Selfie HD, Beauty Camera – Selfie Camera, Equalizer & Bass Booster, CamCard for SalesForce Ent, Isoland 2: Ashes of Time Lite, Viva Video Editor, Tencent Xriver, Onmyoji Chess, Onmyoji Arena, AppLock, and Dual Space Lite among others.
This is the fifth major event where the government of India put a blanket ban on Chinese apps. New Delhi blocked 59 apps on Jun 29, 2020, followed by a ban on 47 related/cloning apps on Aug 10, 2020. Thereafter, 118 apps were blocked on Sep 1, 2020, and another 43 apps on Nov 19, the same year, noted the hindustantimes.com Feb 14.
The home ministry has said the latest banned apps were either cloned versions or those having similar functionality, privacy issues and security threats as alleged in blockading the 267 apps previously 2020.
The initial, June 2020 ban came after 20 Indian soldiers and an unspecified number of Chinese soldiers were killed during violent clashes in Galwan Valley in Eastern Ladakh amid border tensions with China.