NEW DELHI, Sept 2 - India on Wednesday banned 118 more mobile apps with Chinese links, including popular game PUBG, citing data privacy concerns and a threat to national security. This takes the total count of Chinese-linked mobile apps banned by India to 224. The 118 apps banned on Wednesday include Baidu, Baidu Express Edition, Alipay, Tencent Watchlist, FaceU, WeChat reading, Government WeChat, Tencent Weiyun, APUS Launcher Pro, APUS Security, Cut Cut, ShareSave by Xiaomi, and CamCard, besides PUBG Mobile and PUBG Mobile Lite, according to an official release.
�The Government blocks 118 mobile apps which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, the security of the state and public order,� the statement said.
The move comes amid fresh border tensions with China in Ladakh.
The statement cited numerous complaints received by the IT Ministry from various sources, including several reports about the misuse of some mobile apps available on Android and iOS platforms for stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users� data to servers outside India.
�The compilation of these data, its mining and profiling by elements hostile to national security and defence of India, which ultimately impinges upon the sovereignty and integrity of India, is a matter of very deep and immediate concern which requires emergency measures,� the release said.
Earlier on June 29, the government had banned 59 Chinese apps, including hugely popular TikTok and UC Browser, saying they were prejudicial to sovereignty, integrity and security of the country.
That ban, applicable on apps such as WeChat and Bigo Live, had come in the backdrop of a stand-off along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh with Chinese troops.
The June ban was followed by blocking of 47 more Chinese apps that were clones and variants of the ones banned earlier. � PTI
