Tiktok, WeChat and 57 other Chinese apps stand permanently banned from India after notices were issued to them last year. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology issued fresh notices to make permanent the ban imposed on these apps in June, days after an unprecedented escalation in a border row with China. According to reports, the government had given the 59 apps, including ByteDance's video-sharing app TikTok, Tencent's WeChat and Alibaba's UC Browser, a chance to explain their position on compliance with privacy and security requirements, but was not satisfied.
The government had issued fresh notices to the apps last week. The ministry's order on June 29 said the apps were "prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order".
Reports suggest the government was not satisfied with the response to its notice and decided to go ahead with a permanent ban.
"We are evaluating the notice and will respond to it as appropriate. Ensuring the privacy and security of all our users remains to be our topmost priority," a TikTok spokesperson was quoted as telling Mint, while asserting that it had complied with all rules.
A total of 220 apps have been blocked in India amid unrelenting border tensions with China since May.
The first round of bans was announced days after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a clash on June 15 with Chinese troops at Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh.
In September, 118 more mobile apps, including Tencent's popular videogame PUBG, were banned.
More apps were blocked in November, including Alibaba Workbench, AliExpress, Alipay Cashier, CamCard and WeDate. Most of the apps were social media and dating applications.
The apps were banned under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said.
The move was based on "comprehensive reports received from Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Center, Ministry of Home Affairs," said a government statement.
India and China have had several rounds of military and diplomatic dialogue to resolve the border standoff but so far, there has been little progress on the ground.
