India bans 43 apps as a wave of web sanctions against China
INA – Baghdad
India banned 43 mobile applications on Tuesday including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s e-commerce app Aliexpress in a new wave of web sanctions targeted at China with whom it has engaged in a months-long standoff at a Himalayan border site.
The 43 mostly Chinese-origin apps, which also include a few dating apps, threaten the “sovereignty and integrity of India”, the federal technology ministry said in a statement.
India has previously banned more than 170 apps saying they collect and share users’ data, which could pose a threat to the state.
The move, which India’s technology minister has referred to as a “digital strike”, was initiated after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a skirmish with Chinese troops at a disputed Himalayan border site in June.