Nearly a month after banning 59 Chinese mobile applications , the Union government has banned 47 more that included TikTok Lite, Helo Lite and Shareit Lite. The order was issued on Friday.
Also read: After ban, TikTok invited by govt. to submit clarification
While there has been no official communication on the matter, government sources said the newly banned apps were mainly clones of the banned 59.
The Ministry of Electronics and IT banned the 59 apps, including popular ones such as TikTok, Shareit, Mi Video Call, Club Factory and Cam Scanner, citing threat to national security and sovereignty.
Also read: China apps ban | PM Modi quits Weibo
The announcement, which came amid border tensions between Indian and China in Ladakh, had stated, “... in view of the emergent nature of threats, [the government] has decided to block 59 apps... in view of information available [that] they are engaged in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order.”
According to estimates, the 59 apps together had over 500 million monthly active users in India. Following the ban, India-based applications such as Trell and Chingari witnessed a huge surge in downloads.
