These app bans started after a series of skirmishes took place between India and China in the Himalayan region last month. After which India banned 59 Chinese apps including Bytedance’s TikTok and Tencent’s WeChat in its strongest move yet targeting China in the online space.
Government of India Bans 40+ More Chinese Apps
Head of the New Delhi BJP’s IT and social media cell, Punit Agarwal, confirmed the news on Twitter and tweeted, India’s technology ministry announced an order stating that the apps are “prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defense of India, the security of the state and public order”. The ban is considered to be a big stumbling block for Chinese companies like Bytedance in India, as the country is the biggest foreign market for these apps. Bytedance had plans to invest nearly $1 billion in India, open a local data center, and had recently ramped up hiring in the country. In April, the app analytics firm Sensor Tower told that India is the biggest market of TikTok app installations, with a total of nearly 611 million lifetime downloads, or 30.3% of the total downloads. Check out? Huawei Suspends Majority of the Indian Staff and Reduces Revenue Target By Almost 50%