Review panel to also study the latest ban on 118 Chinese apps

New Delhi: A government panel that was set up to review the ban on 59 Chinese apps in June will also review the latest one on 118 apps, which includes popular gaming app PUBG.According to a senior government official, the committee will soon seek detailed comments from the companies owning these apps over data sharing practices and other issues, in line with the exhaustive questionnaire that was sent to the previous set of companies. “The same committee which has been created under the (blocking) rules will also review the latest ban,” the official said, adding that the “same procedure” will be followed and a questionnaire will be sent out soon.Apart from Tencent’s PUBG, which has its most users in India, the fresh ban includes apps from the stable of Chinese internet giant Baidu and Xiaomi, the biggest seller of smartphones in India.Other banned apps include CamCard Business Card Reader, WeChat Reading and Tencent Weiyun. This came after fresh border tensions between India and China. The apps were banned under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act and provisions of the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking of Access of Information by Public) Rules, 2009.The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre of the home ministry had also recommended blocking these malicious apps.77942249In June, the government banned 59 apps including ByteDance-owned TikTok and Helo, along with WeChat, ShareIT, UC browser and shopping app Club Factory.A committee was set up within 48 hours of the ban to examine their data practices and the app companies were soon sent a questionnaire with over 75 queries ranging from their data sharing practices to their ownership structure.The government said it would decide on the interim ban after reviewing their responses.The official quoted earlier in the story said the committee was “still reviewing” the responses given by the companies whose apps were banned in the first round.The panel has representatives from the ministries of home affairs, electronics and IT, information and broadcasting, as well as law and justice, and officials from the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In).Other Tencent-owned apps that were banned on Wednesday include WeChat Work, Pitu and VooV Meeting. Also targeted were Chinese gaming and dating apps, a segment that gained popularity during the Covid-19 led lockdown.A lawyer who works with Chinese companies — many of whose apps have been blocked — said that companies are evaluating their “business continuity strategy given the high number of Indian users many of them had.” It has also riled the Chinese companies operating in India with the question of “who is next”, the person, who did not wish to be identified, said.

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