India bans 47 more Chinese apps, eyes many more

India has banned a further 47 Chinese apps after banning 59 apps last month, and is reviewing 275 more for prospective bans, reports Business Insider.

Head of the Delhi BJP's IT and social media cell, Punit Agarwal, confirmed the news on Twitter: "Govt of India bans 47 more Chinese apps which were variants and cloned copies of the 59 apps that were banned in June. These banned clones include Tiktok Lite, Helo Lite, SHAREit Lite, BIGO LIVE Lite and VFY Lite. Over 250 more apps under radar including PubG. #DigitalStrike."

In June 2020, India banned 59, mostly Chinese, mobile apps including Bytedance’s TikTok and Tencent’s WeChat in its strongest move yet targeting China in the online space since a border crisis erupted between the two countries this month.

India’s technology ministry issued an order stating the apps are “prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order”.

The move came after a deadly border clash between the two nuclear-armed neighbours in a disputed Himalayan region last month that resulted in the death of 20 Indian soldiers.

The ban is expected to be a big stumbling block for Chinese firms such as Bytedance in India, which have placed big bets in what is one of the world’s biggest web services markets.

Beijing-headquartered Bytedance had plans to invest $1 billion in India, open a local data centre, and had recently ramped up hiring in the country.

India is the biggest driver of TikTok app installations, accounting for 611 million lifetime downloads, or 30.3% of the total, app analytics firm Sensor Tower said in April.