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The government has issued an order prohibiting the development of new China-related applications.
The latest step is in addition to the restriction that began in 2020
when the government prohibited applications such as TikTok and PUBG Mobile.
WHY IN NEWS
According to persons acquainted with the situation, the Indian government has ordered the banning of 54 applications that have ties to China and represent a security danger to the country. Garena Free Fire, Tencent's Xriver, and NetEase's Onmyoji Arena are among the apps that will be prohibited. Since border tensions with China flared in May 2020, the government has blacklisted roughly 300 applications in the nation. As a result of the government decision, Google has 'temporarily barred access' to the applications in issue from Google Play in the nation. 'These 54 applications are said to capture sensitive user data and get different key permissions.
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These real-time data are being misappropriated and sent to servers in hostile countries 'In a statement, the administration claimed. 'Other severe concerns include the fact that some of these applications can conduct espionage and surveillance operations through camera/mic, obtain precise location (GPS), and engage in malicious network behaviour similar to previously restricted apps. These applications were reportedly involved in acts that jeopardised the country's sovereignty and integrity, as well as constituting a major threat to the state's security and defence.' With over 184,700 ratings on the App Store and over 105,501,450 on Google Play, Garena's popular battle royale game Free Fire is perhaps the most popular app among the new batch.
LIST OF APPS LIST BANNED YESTERDAY :
AppLock
APUS Security HD (Pad Version)
Astracraft
Badlanders
Barcode Scanner - QR Code Scan
Beauty Camera - Selfie Camera
Beauty Camera: Sweet Selfie HD
CamCard for SalesForce Ent
Conquer Online
Conquer Online - MMORPG Game
CuteU Pro
CuteU: Match With The World
Dual Space - 32Bit Support
Dual Space - 64Bit Support
Dual Space Lite - Multiple Accounts & Clone App
Dual Space Pro - 32Bit Support
Dual Space Pro - Multiple Accounts & App Cloner
DualSpace Lite - 32Bit Support
Equalizer - Bass Booster & Volume EQ & Virtualizer
Equalizer & Bass Booster - Music Volume EQ
Equalizer Pro - Volume Booster & Bass Booster
EVE Echoes
Extraordinary Ones
FancyU - Video Chat & Meetup
FancyU pro - Instant Meetup through Video chat!
FunChat Meet People Around You
Garena Free Fire - Illuminate
Isoland 2: Ashes of Time Lite
Lica Cam - selfie camera app
Live Weather & Radar - Alerts
MoonChat: Enjoy Video Chats
MP3 Cutter - Ringtone Maker & Audio Cutter
Music Player - Equalizer & MP3
Music Player - MP3 Player
Music Player - Music, MP3 Player
Music Plus - MP3 Player
Nice video baidu
Notes - Color Notepad, Notebook
Onmyoji Arena
Onmyoji Chess
Parallel Space Lite 32 Support
RealU Lite -video to live!
RealU: Go Live, Make Friends
Rise of Kingdoms: Lost Crusade
SmallWorld-Enjoy groupchat and video chat
Stick Fight: The Game Mobile
Tencent Xriver
Twilight Pioneers
UU Game Booster-network solution for high ping
Video Player Media All Format
Viva Video Editor - Snack Video Maker with Music
Voice Recorder & Voice Changer
Volume Booster - Loud Speaker & Sound Booster
Wink: Connect Now
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has instructed Google and Apple to prohibit access to the applications in order to enforce the ban. 'We have alerted the impacted developers and have temporarily disabled access to the applications that remained accessible on the Play Store in India,' a Google spokeswoman said in a prepared statement after receiving the interim order issued under Section 69A of the IT Act. At the time of writing, Apple has not responded to a request for comment on the situation. However, none of the applications that have been ordered to be prohibited in India are available on the App Store in India. The restriction is being enforced by the ministry under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act of 2000. The clause effectively gives the government the authority to restrict public access to material via any computing device. This isn't the first time the government has outlawed applications with Chinese origins in the nation. It began in June 2020, when the Ministry of Information Technology banned 59 applications, including TikTok, Shareit, UC Browser, and WeChat, among others.
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The government placed a similar ban on approximately 47 applications in July 2020, most of which were clones or merely altered copies of previously prohibited apps. Following that, the authorities issued another order banning 118 applications and games, including PUBG Mobile and PUBG Mobile Lite. The IT ministry announced 43 new applications for its last blocking decision in November 2020, extending the prohibition on China-linked apps. AliExpress, CamCard, and Taobao Live were among the sites on the list. Chinese corporations like as ByteDance and Tencent have reduced their business and personnel base in the nation as a result of the banning of over 267 applications. Experts, on the other hand, do not believe the prohibitions will have a significant influence.
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