We don’t share data with Chinese govt, says TikTok after India bans 59 mobile apps | Latest News India - Hindustan Times
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We don’t share data with Chinese govt, says TikTok after India bans 59 mobile apps

Hindustan Times, New Delhi | Byhindustantimes.com | Edited by Amit Chaturvedi
Jun 30, 2020 10:54 AM IST

The Union government had on Monday banned 59 Chinese mobile applications including TikTok, citing concerns that these are “prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order”.

TikTok, one of the 59 mobile applications ordered to be blocked by the central government, on Tuesday insisted that it did not pass on any information about its users to any foreign government including the Chinese government and would not do so in the future too.

Indian banned 59 Chinese mobile applications on Monday.(Reuters File Photo)
Indian banned 59 Chinese mobile applications on Monday.(Reuters File Photo)

In a statement that came hours after the government announced the ban on 59 mobile and web applications, TikTok India’s head Nikhil Gandhi said the company had been invited to meet with government stakeholders concerned “to respond and submit clarifications”.

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The banned applications have been removed from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store for India. The applications banned by the government include Club Factory, SHAREit, Likee, Mi Video Call (Xiaomi), Weibo, Baidu and Bigo Live.

Also read: Amit Shah poweredIndia’s ban on 59 China-linked mobile apps

“TikTok continues to comply with all data privacy and security requirements under Indian law and has not shared any information of our users in India with any foreign government, including the Chinese government,” Gandhi said.

“Further, if we are requested to in the future, we would not do so. We place the highest importance on user privacy and integrity,” he added.

The information technology ministry, which issued Monday evening’s ban order, had cited concerns that the 59 applications are ‘prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order’.

The IT ministry statement did not identify the 59 applications to be linked to China. But government officials have pointed that the China connection was one common factor between most of the applications that had been ordered to be blocked.

Also Read: Indian websites not accessible in China as Xi Jinping govt blocks VPN

Monday’s order came against the backdrop of heightened tensions between India and China over the border dispute in Ladakh that led to the deadly June 15 confrontation in Galwan Valley. Home Minister Amit Shah, officials told Hindustan Times, had powered the decision that had been under discussion for weeks within the bureaucracy.

The National Security Council Secretariat, which had been involved in the deliberations after intelligence agencies raised a red flag over the applications, had also backed the move.

Tuesday morning’s statement by TikTok, however, indicated that the company still believed that it had a fighting chance to make a comeback. It described the government ban as an “interim order” and underlined the role that it said TikTok had played.

“TikTok has democratised the internet by making it available in 14 Indian languages, with hundreds of million of users, artists, story-tellers, educators and performers depending on it for their livelihood, many of whom are first time internet users,” the statement from TikTok India head Nikhil Gandhi said.

That assertion is unlikely to persuade the government to change its stance.

“All these apps have been reported to have been leaking data. Their malpractices have also been singled out by experts. They have been said to take location data, transfer files to servers in China. Moreover, the beauty apps, such as beauty plus and selfie cameras have also been reported for being a threat as they contain pornographic content,” a person familiar with the development had told HT on Monday.

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