INDIA BANNED 59 CHINESE MOBILE APPS UNDER INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACT- (Blog)


 

On June 29, as a result of border tension between India and China the Indian Ministry of Electronics and Technology (MeIT) banned 59 Chinese mobile applications to tackle the threat posed by such applications to the country’s ‘sovereignty and security’. The Department of Telecommunications has issued several guidelines and directions to internet service providers to instantly block the accessibility of these apps.

The ban was introduced in compliance with the Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 read with the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for blocking of Access of Information by Public) Rules, 2009. As specified in the provision, the Government may prohibit public access to any kind of information produced, transmitted, obtained or stored by any computer resource where it is considered 'satisfied' than 'required or expedient' in the interests of India's sovereignty, dignity, protection or security.

The interim order was enforced on wide category of apps, including e-commerce apps, utility apps, video content apps, news apps, image and document scanner apps and online shopping apps. Union Minister said that, “the ban would be a ‘digital strike’ against China”.

Earlier in April, the Indian Government imposed a condition that only with the government’s approval the Indian Companies can invest from countries which share a ‘land border with India’.

On July 21, the government has issued a warning to all these companies, that continued availability and operation of these prohibited application, directly or indirectly, is not only illegal but also an offence under the IT Act and other applicable Acts.

Some of the reasons behind the ban are that, the apps are engaged in activities that are derogatory to Indian citizens' sovereignty, public order, protection, dignity and safety and also there were complaints and recommendations from various sources like the Computer Emergency Response Team on data protection and privacy violations. The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, Ministry of Home Affairs has given the central government a comprehensive proposal to block such 'malicious applications'. Due to which an urgent and deep concern has been raised to ban such apps on an emergency basis.

Apps such as TikTok, Like, Helo etc. are widely popular and have over 100 million active users in India. In fact, these platforms represent a major source of income. Most of these applications have offices and employees in India and through the ban these jobs are at risk now.

The government is certain that the decision was implemented to protect 'Indian Cyber Space's security and sovereignty' and to protect the interests of Indian mobile users.

China has strongly condemned the ban and has discriminatorily aimed at certain Chinese Apps as quite ambiguous, against the fair and transparent procedure. USA has come out in support of India's move and has declared it as a 'clean-app approach' that will boast the country's sovereignty, integrity and national security. Nonetheless, no concrete action has been taken by China in response to the ban and we still have to observe how the 'digital attack' will be dealt with by the governments of both countries and their citizens.


-Aliza Shahid
The Glocal University

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