India has added an additional 118 Chinese apps to its blacklist. In May, the Indian IT Ministry banned a total of 58 Chinese apps citing security concerns. Among the July list were TikTok and UC Browser.
The 58 apps are now joined by over 100 apps including the famous Chinese popular battle royale game PUBG(PlayersUnknowns BattleGround).
According to India’s IT ministry, the 118 outlawed apps were “prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, Defence of India, Security of State and Public Order.”
Example of the newly banned apps includes CamCard, Baidu, Cut Cut, VooV, Tencent Weiyun, Rise of Kingdoms, and Zakzak. See the full list in the images below.
India’s IT Ministry says it has received “many complaints from various sources,” on the “misuse of some mobile apps available on Android and iOS platforms.” Some of these apps steal and secretly steal user data in illegal ways and sends the data to servers located out of India, the Ministry said in a statement(via TC).
“There has been a strong chorus in the public space to take strict action against apps that harm India’s sovereignty as well as the privacy of our citizens.”
The new ban escalates geopolitical tensions between the two countries after a military border clash that led to demise of more than 20 Indian soldiers. Following the border clash, new movements to boycott Chinese products have emerged. India has also enacted new rules to manually approve investments from Chinese investors who wish to tap into the local market.