India ban on Chinese apps updates: Ban is welcome, but govt must take more substantive measures, says Congress' Ahmed Patel

Alternatives available for CamScanner, TikTok

As pointed out in a News18 report , there are several alternatives to some of the popular Chinese apps that have been banned. For example, documents on CamScanner can be shifted to Google Drives, and alternatives such as Microsoft Office Lens or Adobe Lens can be used. Similarly, for social media apps such as TikTok, there are alternatives such as Dubsmash, and Indian apps like Roposo, Chingari and Bolo Indya.

Indians spent 5.5 bn hours on TikTok in 2019, says report

An India Today report has quoted data analytics firm App Annie as saying that in 2019, Indians spent a massive 5.5 billion hours on TikTok, which was higher than the total number of hours in 2018.

Education is key, not repression, says French cybersecurity expert

Ban likely to be followed by instructions to Internet service providers

According to an article in The Indian Express , the ban notification is likely to be followed by instructions to Internet service providers to stop access to these apps. Users may soon see a message saying access to the apps have been restricted at the request of the government.

Full list of banned Chinese apps

Users who already downloaded apps won’t be able to access downloads

As per an article in News18 , the ban on the 59 Chinese apps means that these apps will no longer receive any developer support in India. So, users who have already downloaded the apps will not be able to access app downloads.

TikTok ban provides fodder for memes

Meanwhile, the ban on 59 Chinese apps, including TikTok, has sparked off a meme fest on Twitter.

Centre imposed ban too late, says Hemant Soren

ANI quoted Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren as saying, “I think the Central government is late in taking this step. These mobile applications have already spread the ‘infection’”

‘Expect govt to take more substantial measures’: says Congress’ Ahmed Patel

Will Centre keep Chinese companies away from 5G rollout, asks Priyanka Chaturvedi

Centre says it has received complaints of misuse of data

An official statement said, “The Ministry of Information Technology has received many complaints from various sources including several reports about misuse of some mobile apps available on Android and iOS platforms for stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users’ data in an unauthorised manner to servers which have locations outside of India.”

Apps will need to be removed from Google Play, Apple App Store

Banning mobile apps will require that the apps be removed from the Google Play and Apple App Store, and any other app download stores available.

In addition, their network connectivity will need to be blocked to ensure that the apps already downloaded cannot be used, in case they require network connectivity. This would likely be done in a way similar to how websites are banned in India.

Tiktok’s ad revenue grew by 50% in past year, says report

According to an article in Mint , TikTok’s advertising revenue has witnessed a 50 percent growth in the past year. However, it is yet to take a significant share of the country’s Rs 17,000 crore digital ad market, which is dominated by Google and Facebook, the report stated.

Ban imposed to protect data of Indians, says Ravi Shankar Prasad

Section 69A of IT Act used to enforce ban

According to a report in The Indian Express , the Centre has used Section 69A of the Information Technology Act to enforce the ban.

Helo, CamScanner among banned apps

The list of apps that have been banned also include Helo, Likee, Cam Scanner, Vigo Video, Mi Video Call – Xiaomi, Clash of Kings as well as e-commerce platforms Club Factory and Shein.

This marks the largest sweep against the Chinese technology companies.

PTI

Centre bans 59 Chinese apps

India on Monday banned 59 apps with Chinese links, including hugely popular TikTok and UC Browser, saying they were prejudicial to sovereignty, integrity and security of the country.

The ban, which comes in the backdrop of current stand-off along the Line of Actual control in Ladakh with Chinese troops, also includes WeChat and Bigo Live.

PTI