For safety, security, defence, sovereignty & integrity of India and to protect data & privacy of people of India, the Government on Monday banned 59 Chinese apps, said Law, Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.
These 59 Chinese apps included the hugely popular TikTok, UC Browser, Helo, Likee, CamScanner, Vigo Video, Mi Video Call - Xiaomi, Clash of Kings as well as e-commerce platforms like Club Factory and Shein.
The IT Ministry in a statement said it had received many complaints from various sources, including several reports about misuse of some mobile apps available on Android and iOS platforms for "stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users' data in an unauthorised manner to servers which have locations outside India".
"The compilation of these data, its mining and profiling by elements hostile to national security and defence of India, which ultimately impinges upon the sovereignty and integrity of India, is a matter of very deep and immediate concern which requires emergency measures," the statement said.
Meanwhile, TikTok on Tuesday morning released a statement and said that they have been invited to meet with government stakeholders for an opportunity to respond and submit clarifications. The head of TikTok India, Nikhil Gandhi said that they continue to comply with all data privacy and security requirements under Indian law and have not shared any information of our users in India with any foreign government, including the Chinese Government.
Here is their full statement:
"The Government of India has issued an interim order for the blocking of 59 apps, including TikTok and we are in the process of complying with it. We have been invited to meet with concerned government stakeholders for an opportunity to respond and submit clarifications. TikTok continues to comply with all data privacy and security requirements under Indian law and have not shared any information of our users in India with any foreign government, including the Chinese Government. Further if we are requested to in the future we would not do so. We place the highest importance on user privacy and integrity.
TikTok has democratized the internet by making it available in 14 Indian languages, with hundreds of millions of users, artists, story-tellers, educators and performers depending on it for their livelihood, many of whom are first time internet users."
