China on Tuesday expressed its concerns regarding the decision of the Indian government to ban 59 apps with Chinese links.
“We want to stress that the Chinese government always asks Chinese businesses to abide by international and local laws-regulations. The Indian government has a responsibility to uphold the legal rights of international investors including Chinese ones,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said.
In a statement on Monday, the Information Technology Ministry said it had received many complaints, including reports about the misuse of some mobile apps available on Android and iOS platforms for "stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users' data in an unauthorised manner to servers which have locations 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 statement said.
The Google on Tuesday said it has removed all the banned applications from the Play Store.
The ban on the Chinese apps came in the backdrop of current stand-off along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh with Chinese troops.
The list of apps that have been banned includes Helo, Likee, CamScanner, Vigo Video, Mi Video Call Xiaomi, Clash of Kings as well as e-commerce platforms Club Factory and Shein.
