Govt bans 43 mobile apps for ‘engaging in activities prejudicial to integrity of India’

Earlier this year on June 29, the government had blocked access to 59 mobile apps and 118 more apps on September 2 under section 69A of the Information Technology Act.

The ministry of electronics and information technology on Tuesday blocked 43 mobile applications for engaging in activities which are “prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of the country, defence, security of state and public order”.

The decision to ban the applications, mostly linked to China, for users in India was taken following comprehensive reports from Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Center of the ministry of home affairs, the IT ministry said in a statement. WeWorkChina, AliExpress, CamCard, and Snack Video are some of the mobile applications that were banned by the Centre on Tuesday.

WATCH | India bans more Chinese apps: AliExpress, SnackVideo, CamCard in list of 43

Earlier this year on June 29, the government had blocked access to 59 mobile apps and 118 more apps on September 2 under section 69A of the Information Technology Act. The move to ban the apps, of which most were Chinese, was termed as a digital strike on the neighbouring nation with which India has been engaged in a standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.

Previously too mobile applications such as TikTok, UC Browser, WeChat and Ludo were blocked by the government citing concerns that these are ‘prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order’.

According to officials, the applications banned earlier were reported to be leaking data of Indian users. “Their malpractices have also been singled out by experts. They have been said to take location data, transfer files to servers in China. Moreover, the beauty apps, such as beauty plus and selfie camera have also been reported for being a threat as they contain pornographic content,” the official said in June. “Although most of these apps are of either Chinese origin or controlled by Chinese companies, there are others based out of Singapore and Hong Kong,” the official added.

The move will also safeguard the interests of crores of Indian mobile and internet users. The decision is a targeted one meant to ensure safety, security and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace, the IT ministry had said after the ban on apps in September.