The Centre has banned 54 Chinese apps over privacy, security, and espionage concerns, saying they were clones of previously taken down applications and obtained critical permissions to collect sensitive user data.
As many as 267 apps were earlier blocked in 2020 citing privacy and security threats amid border tensions between India and China. Ravi Shankar Prasad, the then Union electronics and information technology minister , called the bans on the applications a “digital strike against China.”
In a statement, the electronics and information technology ministry said the 54 apps misused and transmitted real-time data to servers located in a hostile country. “This will enable them to compile huge personal data to mine, collate, analyse and profile by the elements who are hostile to the sovereignty and integrity of India and for activities detrimental to national security.”
It added a request for the blocking of apps was received from the home ministry under an emergency provision in the Information Technology Act. The statement cited a report from the home ministry and added these apps were either cloned versions or had similar functionality. It added some of these apps could carry out espionage and surveillance activities via “camera/mic, accessing fine location (GPS) and do malicious network activity similar to previously blocked apps”.
