India bans TikTok, 58 other Chinese apps as tensions escalate

PanARMENIAN.Net - India is banning TikTok and several other well-known Chinese apps, saying they pose a "threat to sovereignty and integrity," in the latest indication of escalating tensions between the two countries, CNN reports.

India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said in a statement Monday, June 29 that it had received many complaints about misuse and transmission of user data by some mobile apps 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 ministry said, listing 59 apps including many prominent Chinese ones that will be subject to the ban.

While the Indian government's statement did not mention China by name, the ban comes as military tensions between the two countries continue to escalate following deadly border clashes earlier this month that left at least 20 Indian soldiers dead. Many Indians have called for a boycott of Chinese goods and services, particularly from China's dominant tech industry.

TikTok, the hugely popular video platform owned by Chinese tech giant Bytedance, has an estimated 120 million users in India, making the country one of its biggest markets.