India makes ban on TikTok and 58 other Chinese apps permanent

India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has issued fresh notices to make permanent a ban imposed on TikTok and 58 other Chinese applications.

When it first imposed that ban, as reported by The Times of India, the Indian government provided all 59 Chinese applications to explain their position on compliance with privacy and security requirements.

The companies, which include ByteDance’s popular video-sharing app TikTok and Tencent Holdings’ WeChat, were also asked to respond to a list of questions, with government authorities stating that "The government is not satisfied with the response/explanation given by these companies. Hence, the ban for these 59 apps is permanent now".

The Ministry, in its decision in June, stated that these applications were "prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order”.

The order, which the Indian government referred to as a “digital strike”, followed a skirmish with Chinese troops at the disputed Himalayan border site, when 20 Indian soldiers were killed.

In September, the Indian government banned another 118 mobile apps, including Tencent’s popular video game PUBG, as it stepped up the pressure on Chinese technology companies following the stand-off at the border.

A TikTok representative told The Economic Times newspaper that the company was evaluating the notice and will respond to it as appropriate.