Government of India Prohibits another 43 Chinese Mobile Apps over Cybersecurity Reasons

On Tuesday, the Government of India (GOI) blocked another 43 Chinese apps including some of Alibaba Group Holding Limited’s key shopping services from accessing by users in India, under section 69A of the ITA (Information Technology Act).

The world’s second-largest internet market ‘India’ has blocked more than a dozen of gaming and dating platforms. Furthermore, the Indian Government has also banned a number of apps run by the e-commerce giants including the popular shopping website Aliexpress and Taobao Live, which is a fast-growing video-based marketplace.

In an official statement, India’s Information Technology Ministry said the decision to block another 43 Chinese apps was based on the comprehensive reports received from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination, Ministry of Home Affairs.

Besides, the Government of India has stated that prohibitions are in the interest of national security, and the goal was, however, to ‘protect the sovereignty and integrity of India and safeguard its cybersecurity’ but the ever-growing blacklist also underlines India’s broader effort to reduce dependence on its neighbour’s products, and further hinders China’s largest businesses efforts to expand beyond their own borders.

In July, Alibaba’s UC browser had already been blocked by the Government of India, which was the second-largest in the country with a 10.2 percent of market share.

Moreover, the latest move from the Indian Government to block the Chinese apps came amongst the tension between the two Asian economies giants that have been escalating since more than 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a military clash in the Himalayas, in June 2020.

Lastly, the GOI has also banned applications operated by the country’s No. 1 brand Xiaomi Corporation, which relies on its Mi service library to stimulate demand for smartphones.