According to some government officials, delegations from the 59 Chinese apps that the Indian government banned on Monday are asked to appear before a committee formed by the government within 48 hours of the announcement to prove that the data of Indian users is not being shared with Chinese servers.
The government has formed a committee to initiate a detailed inquiry into the data-sharing practices of the apps which were recently banned in India. The executives of these apps have said to cooperate with the government in the enquiry and have been preparing themselves for the meeting.
India’s head of Tiktok, Nikhil Gandhi said, “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. Further, if we are requested in the future, we would not do so”.
Tiktok said to its users, “We are in the process of complying with the government of India’s directive to block 59 apps. Ensuring the privacy and security of all our users in India remains our utmost priority, ” and went offline on Tuesday.
A representative of Bytedance, the parent company of TikTok said, “ByteDance will engage with the government. If the government thinks China cares about banning social media apps, it is mistaken. These aren’t strategic industries”.
A senior executive of Likee said, “The intent is to work with the government and not against it. We are happy to take initiative and comply with any policy changes proposed”.
The committee comprises officials from various ministries including that of home affairs, electronics & IT, information & broadcasting, law & justice and also from CERT-In (a major Internet Security agency of India).
A senior government official said, “Given the threat to national security and public order, the ban was necessary at a time of increasing tensions with China. Emergency provisions under the law were invoked to ban the apps owing to concerns that some of these were being used for espionage on Indians”.
After the government move, a Chinese embassy spokesperson, Ji Rong has said, “India’s measure selectively and discriminatorily aims at certain Chinese apps on ambiguous and far-fetched grounds, runs against fair and transparent procedure requirements, abuses national security exceptions, and (is) suspected of violating the WTO rules”. He added, “The ban will affect local employment in India”.
While the government officials argued, “These are all provisions under the law.”
A top official said, “We don’t think any court will disagree with the government and ask us to conduct an inquiry before banning the apps, especially in such a tense situation”.
A press release by the government said, “ShareIT, UC Browser and shopping app Club Factory are among the other prominent apps that have been blocked amid heightened tensions along the border with China. The ban was meant to counter the threat posed by these applications to the country’s “sovereignty and security”.
“The ban has opened a Pandora’s Box with regard to regulating data flows and is a short-term solution to an ongoing crisis. There is a need for stronger data protection frameworks, secure digital infrastructure and deeper cooperation between like-minded countries in fighting rising threats from across the borders”, said Kazim Rizvi of digital policy think tank – The Dialogue.
Following the ban by the Indian government on the 59 Chinese apps, the share prices of Chinese companies stocks suffered heavily on U.S stock exchanges. The Chinese app TikTok’s rating on Android Play Store plunged in a significant manner post its ban in India.