India Bans 43 Mobile Apps As It Takes On China
Nov 24, 2020 | Pratirodh Bureau
FILE PHOTO: A protester demanding the boycott of China and Chinese goods carries a poster in New Delhi in June 2020
India banned 43 mobile applications on Tuesday, including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s e-commerce app Aliexpress, in a new wave of web sanctions targeted at China with whom it has engaged in a months-long standoff at a Himalayan border site.
The 43 mostly-Chinese origin apps, which also include a few dating apps, threaten the “sovereignty and integrity of India”, the technology ministry said in a statement.
India has previously banned more than 170 apps saying they collect and share users data that could pose a threat to the state.
The move, which India’s technology minister has earlier referred to as a “digital strike”, comes after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a skirmish with Chinese troops at a disputed Himalayan border site in June.
“Government is committed to protect the interests of citizens and sovereignty and integrity of India on all fronts and it shall take all possible steps to ensure that,” the Centre said today.
The blocked apps include Alibaba Workbench, Alipay Cashier, CamCard and WeDate.
AliExpress, a China-based online shopping platform, is popular in India.
Indian and Chinese troops have been locked in a standoff in several places in Ladakh since April, when China’s People’s Liberation Army attempted to transgress the Line of Actual Control, the de-facto border between the two countries.