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Explainer: What you need to know about India’s ban on TikTok and other Chinese apps

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Although the restrictions are not implicitly connected to the border tensions, it seems evident that they are intended to send a message to Beijing.
Late on Monday, India’s Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology ordered a ban on 59 mobile apps – all from Chinese companies – that it said were “engaged in activities prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order”. These included apps like TikTok, Clash Of Kings and Shareit, which have millions of Indian users and large teams of employees in the country.
Although the government press release on the decision does not connect it to the current tensions on the disputed border between India and China, the move appears to be an attempt to send a message to Beijing.
Here is what we know:
According to the official press release, 59 apps – all from Chinese companies – have been banned by the government for engaging in activities “prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order.”
These include well-known apps like TikTok, one of the world’s biggest social networks, Shareit, a popular file-sharing app, Clash of Kings, a gaming app and UC Browser, the second-most popular mobile browser in India.
See the full list here.
As of Tuesday, some of these apps had been taken down from the Apple and Google app stores, and many users said that they were no longer working even if they had already downloaded them.
The Ministry of Electronics & IT’s press release cited a number of different reasons to ban the apps include
The ministry has invoked Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, which gives the government powers to block access to a website or a service if it is “in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States or public order or for preventing incitement to the commission of any cognisable offence”.

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