New Delhi, Feb 14: The Government of India is likely to issue a fresh order to ban 54 Chinese apps, which pose a big threat to the country’s security, sources said on Monday.
According to the sources, the government believes that these 54 Chinese apps pose a threat to the privacy and security of Indians.
The majority of these apps are owned by large Chinese technology companies such as Tencent, Alibaba, and NetEase, a game company. These Chinese technology companies have all “rebranded or rechristened” apps that the Centre banned in 2020.
Sources said the 54 Chinese apps include Beauty Camera: Sweet Selfie HD, Beauty Camera – Selfie Camera, Equalizer & Bass Booster, CamCard for SalesForce Ent, Isoland 2: Ashes of Time Lite, Viva Video Editor, Tencent Xriver, Onmyoji Chess, Onmyoji Arena, AppLock and Dual Space Lite.
According to the sources, the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeITY), which had previously prohibited Chinese software in 2000, has asked the Google Playstore to disable these apps.
They stated that the MeITY has taken the required steps in this regard, using the powers conferred on it by Section 69a of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Notably since June 2020, the Centre has banned around 224 Chinese apps starting with about 59 apps in the first round, including popular applications like TikTok, Shareit, WeChat, Helo, Likee, UC News, Bigo Live, UC Browser, ES File Explorer, and Mi Community.
