China has strongly reacted to India’s move to ban 59 mobile applications, most of which are linked to China. The Indian government’s decision was based on security concerns. “China is strongly concerned, and we are verifying the situation,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Tuesday during a press briefing. He further said that India has a responsibility to uphold the rights of Chinese businesses. India on Monday banned the apps in its strongest move yet targeting China in the online space since a border crisis erupted between the two countries earlier this month. The apps banned by India include ByteDance’s popular video sharing platform TikTok and Tencent’s WeChat. In a statement on Tuesday, TikTok said that it did not pass on any information about its users to any foreign government including the Chinese government and would not do so in the future too. “TikTok continues to comply with all data privacy and security requirements under Indian law and has not shared any information of our users in India with any foreign government, including the Chinese government,” the statement from TikTok India head Nikhil Gandhi said. The other Chinese apps which have been banned are Club Factory, SHAREit, Likee, Mi Video Call (Xiaomi), Weibo, Baidu and Bigo Live. They have been removed from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store for India. The order came after India toughened its stance against China following the border skirmish. Home Minister Amit Shah, officials told Hindustan Times, had powered the decision that had been under discussion for weeks within the bureaucracy. The government’s move has been welcomed by the industry. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said that the ban will be a big support to its ‘Boycott Chinese Goods’ campaign. ShareChat Director Public Policy Berges Malu also welcomed the move. Internet Service Providers Association of India (ISPAI) also lauded the move. “This should have done long back, good step… ISPAI will act very swiftly to block these apps once the order comes,” its president Rajesh Chharia said.Naveen Tewari, Founder and CEO of InMobi Group, said, “This is the digital Aatmanirbhar moment that most Indians have been rooting for”.
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