NEW DELHI, India: India has banned 54 Chinese mobile apps from being sold in the country, citing security concerns. Some of the banned apps include those owned by multinational tech giants Alibaba and Tencent. Among the banned apps are “Viva Video Editor,” “Beauty Camera: Sweet Selfie HD,” “Rise of Kingdoms: Lost Crusade,” “MoonChat,” “Barcode Scanner – QR Code Scan” and “Lica Cam,” among others. Indian officials said that the apps will not be sold in India because some were found to have transmitted real-time date to servers in a “hostile country,” India’s electronics and information technology ministry said in a statement, though it did not single out China. “This will enable them to compile huge personal data to mine, collate, analyze and profile by the elements who are hostile to the sovereignty and integrity of India and for activities detrimental to national security,” the statement said. The ministry said blocking the apps follows a request from the federal home ministry. In 2020, India also blocked Chinese apps on four occasions, including after clashes with China in eastern Ladakh’s Galwan Valley. The Indian government blocked 59 Chinese apps, including TikTok, in 2020. This week, the government noted that the 54 blocked apps were either cloned versions or had the same functionality, privacy issues and security threats as the previously blocked 267 apps.
National security fears cause India to ban 54 Chinese mobile apps
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