The government has launched another digital crackdown, instructing the removal of 119 Chinese apps from the Google Play Store. These apps are associated with developers from China and Hong Kong, with many of them being video and voice chat platforms. All of these apps were available in India’s Google Play Store. A recent report highlighted concerns that these apps posed a threat to India’s national security and sovereignty. This isn’t the first time; India initiated a digital ban back in 2020, restricting hundreds of Chinese apps, including popular ones like TikTok and Shareit.
Digital strike on Chinese apps
In this latest digital operation, a report from MoneyControl notes that the banned Chinese apps are cataloged in the Lumen database, which is managed by Harvard University in the United States. On June 20, 2020, India had already banned over 100 Chinese apps. The trend of banning more apps continued in 2021 and 2022 as part of ongoing digital efforts.
The central government invoked IT Act 69A to enforce this ban on Chinese apps. Interestingly, some of the apps on the banned list are developed by companies from Singapore, the US, the UK, and Australia. As per the report, the Indian government has halted the public access to these apps, and while 15 out of the 119 have been removed from the Google Play Store, several others remain accessible.
These apps were banned
Among the apps that have been banned, three have been specifically mentioned: ChillChat, a video chat and gaming platform developed by the Mangostore team based in Singapore, which has over a million downloads; ChangApp, a popular Chinese app with millions of downloads; and finally, HoneyCam, a photo filter app created by an Australian company.
ALSO READ: iPhone 16e launch: Apple discontinues sale of three popular iPhone models in India