Ban on 59 Chinese Apps- A warning to bigger Chinese businesses in India.. to China itself!

Boycotting Chinese products was not that easy we thought, right? And now when the government has also stepped in to 'Say no to China made products' why do some still have to question about the legality and that how will the ban be enforced? Also, will this ban be permenant.. and many more alike.

 

India on Monday banned 59 apps originating from China, including very popular ones like the short video platform TikTok, UC Browser, file sharing app ShareIt, and CamScanner. Although this is a welcome step, we have people wondering about how are the apps banned in India when still accessible to users? It is to note that if the users have any of these app installed on their mobile phone they'll still be able to see it on Google Play store. But, once uninstalled the app it will no more be visible, hence banned!

 

 

 

The ban has been enforced under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 where the Central Government is authorised to block the access to any information in any computer resource in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India. The step is all legal if the government is satisfied that it is necessary to do so to protect the defence of India and security of the State.

 

The Ministry of Information and Technology has said that it received many complaints from various sources including several reports about misuse of some mobile apps. This included stealing and transmitting users data in an unauthorised manner to servers which have locations outside India. Since this ultimately impinges upon the sovereignty and integrity of India, it is a matter of very deep and immediate concern which actually required emergency measures.

 

 

The notification is expected to be followed by instructions to Internet service providers to block these apps. Users are likely to soon see a message saying access to the apps has been restricted on the request of the government.

 

However, while this will impact apps like TikTok and UC News that need a live feed to serve any purpose, users might still be able to continue using apps that don’t need an active Internet connection. But further downloads of these apps, like CamScanner, are likely to be blocked on Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store.

 

 

Some apps on the banned list are very popular in India, especially TikTok, which has over 100 million active users in the country. New social media platforms like Helo and Likee, as well as video chat app Bigo Live are immensely popular among Indians who are not comfortable in English. These users will have to look for substitutes. India's app market is valuable and growing. Although a few thousand jobs could be at stake, this ban is an opportunity to many young minds to build networks by making available the Indian substitutes to these apps.

 

The goverment of India has always been super supportive to 'Make in India' and 'Start-up India' project modules. With the ban on the Chinese apps, the government has as if given a golden chance to people develop alternatives to these apps. After all this it remains to see whether this ban will be permanent? TikTok was banned in India on the order of the Madras High Court for a few days last year, but it came back soon after the court vacated the ban. This action, however, is more sweeping, impacts more apps, and has been taken in a specific strategic and national security context. It could be a warning to bigger Chinese businesses in India, and to China itself.