Image : Representational Purpose Only
In a major move by the Modi government after the Galwan valley face-ff in Ladakh that saw 20 Indian soldiers killed, the IT ministry has banned 59 mobile apps, including China’s TikTok, SHAREiT , WeChat UC Browser, terming them prejudicial to sovereignty, integrity and national security.
The list also includes Helo, Likee, Cam Scanner, Vigo Video, Mi Video Call, Xiaomi, Clash of Kings as well as e-commerce platforms Club Factory and Shein.
In an official statement, the IT ministry said it has 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”.
List of 59 apps banned by Government of India “which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order”. pic.twitter.com/p6T2Tcd5rI
— ANI (@ANI) June 29, 2020
“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.
The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, Ministry of Home Affairs, has also sent an exhaustive recommendation for blocking these malicious apps.
“On the basis of these and upon receiving of recent credible inputs that such Apps pose threat to sovereignty and integrity of India, the Government of India has decided to disallow the usage of certain Apps, used in both mobile and non-mobile Internet enabled devices,” it said.
The statement added that this move will “safeguard the interests of crores of Indian mobile and internet users.
