It is generally known that the Communist Chinese regime is using the consumer and enterprise technology companies to spy. As a friend, China and their tech firms have had the benefit of the doubt so far. The government felt the need for a Chinese-Tech-Mukt-Bharat when China publicly provoked it by trying to conquer Indian territory.
What is the message of the government with this ban?
India is trying to maintain its digital security and China will respond in the same currency. Chinese applications are worth hundreds of billions of dollars and India is considered a lucrative market. But not anymore. Chinese companies are the sole target of money laundering.
Under what law has the government declared the ban?
Chinese Applications have been banned under Section 69A of the Information and Communication Technology Act of 2009 (Procedures and Security for the Prevention of Transmission of Public Information).
Is Tik Tok only banned?
This ban is not limited to tick talk. A total of 59 Chinese apps are banned. Other popular apps on the list include: SharePoint, UC Browser, Hello, Club Factory, and CamScanner to name just a few.
How will the ban be implemented?
Since the Indian government has officially banned the apps, Google and Apple will have to remove the apps from their India app stores. The government will require all Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to control Internet traffic to and from the servers associated with these applications. Since these applications require Internet connectivity for their core functions, they can be useless.
If apps are banned, can they continue using them in a web browser?
Not likely. The ban applies to ‘mobile and non-mobile Internet enabled devices’ as per a government order. This means that Indian users will not be able to access websites related to the applications.
How popular are banned apps in India?
Many banned apps are very popular. Tic Tac are the most popular of them all.
Is there any substitute for banned apps?
Plenty. There are many alternatives that are very reliable. Many are from global companies like Google, Microsoft and Adobe, and there are many Indian applications.
Is the ban likely to be lifted soon?
The allegations against the banned apps are serious, and the data security of Indians is banned. In that case, the ban is not likely to move immediately.
Wasn’t Mick banned from tick talk?
Yes. But it was due to a court order. In April 2019, the Madras High Court ordered the government to ban downloading of tick talk, which is dangerous to children. The ban was lifted within a month.
What happens to my data in banned apps?
Unlike other popular services from Google, Facebook and Twitter, many of these banned apps do not allow you to easily download your personal data. If you have to download the files individually (if the option is available), this is a difficult process. Deleting your files and information does not mean that data has been erased from all their records.
Are there only 59 Chinese apps?
Not at all. There are many more applications. The 59 most popular applications are now banned under the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-IN) scanner.
Is it possible to ban more Chinese apps?
The possibility cannot be ruled out. There are many Chinese applications that are very popular among Indian users and are skeptical of data security practices.
What about Chinese phones and devices?
There is no information yet on what government action will be taken in this regard.
Why not include PUBG and Zoom in the banned app list?
The origin of PUBG may be from South Korea and the origin of zoom in the US. Zoom’s founder and CEO, Eric Yuan, was born in China but is now a US citizen.
In short …
Chinese products are trapped in Indian ports. Moreover, contracts with Chinese companies by many government agencies have no value even on paper. India is angry at China’s move. The country wants to give a proper answer. This may sound harsh, but Modi is delivering a strong message.
