India has banned 59 Chinese apps, including the popular TikTok short-video service, claiming threats to its sovereignty, security and public order, as relations between the two nations worsened.
The blocked apps also include software from the Alibaba tech giant, internet search organisation Baidu, and WeChat and Clash of Kings, owned by gaming company Tencent.
The move comes days after border tension killed Indian and Chinese soldiers.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology on Monday said there was unauthorised transmission and storage of Indian users’ data in overseas servers.
The ministry said that data was mined and profiled "by elements hostile to national security and defence of India”.
It remains unclear how the ban will be implemented because most of these apps are already stored on users’ phones.
The government might need to block the apps' servers and prevent new users from downloading them.
One in three smartphone users in India will be affected by the ban, Tarun Pathak, associate director with Counterpoint Technology, told Bloomberg.
The border standoff, which has been brewing for nearly two months, has worsened.
Indian Customs officials at major ports and airports has begun to halt clearances of industrial consignments from China.
The app ban is the latest by India as it tries to reduce dependence on Chinese products.
-
Indian Army personnel carry the body of Col Santosh Babu through Suryapet, a town near the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, on Thursday. Col Babu was among the 20 Indian troops killed in Monday's clash with Chinese soldiers in the Himalayan district of Ladakh. AFP -
Indian Army personnel, family members and relatives salute next to the body of Col Santosh Babu before his funeral at Suryapet. AFP -
B Upender performs the final rites of his son Col Santosh Babu in Suryapet. AP Photo -
Santoshi mourns after receiving her husband Col Santosh Babu's uniform and the National flag during the last rites ceremony in Suryapet. AP Photo -
Santoshi performs rituals during the last rites in Suryapet. AP Photo -
Santoshi and her son salute during the last rites of her husband in Suryapet. AP Photo -
Activists hold photos of Chinese President Xi Jinping and shout slogans against China during a protest in the southern Indian city of Bangalore. EPA -
Activists hold photos of Chinese President Xi Jinping and shouts slogans against China in Bangalore. EPA -
Children take part in an anti-China demonstration in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata. AFP -
Men shout slogans and call for boycott of Chinese products during a demonstration in the north-eastern Indian city of Guwahati. AP Photo -
Activists throughout India hold candles as a tribute to Indian soldiers killed in clash with Chinese troops in the Himalayan district of Ladakh. EPA -
Activists belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party shout slogans while holding posters as they sit in a police van during an anti-China protest in the eastern Indian city of Siliguri. AFP
India, with its a half-billion internet users, is an emerging arena for global technology companies, from the US to China.
Hundreds of millions of first-time users are coming online in India with Chinese smartphones and Chinese apps.
The move is a particular blow for ByteDance, which says India is its biggest market, having more than 200 million TikTok users.
