Google and Apple comply with India ban on Chinese apps
What you need to know
- The Indian government has banned 59 Chinese-developed apps in the country.
- Apple and Google have both complied with the ban.
- The apps have been removed from both the App Store and Google Play Store.
Apple and Google have both complied with a government-enforced ban on Chinese apps in India, removing 59 apps from the App Store and Google Play Store.
As TechCrunch reports:
The bans stems from a political dispute between India and China, in particular conflict over the Line of Actual Control. From our previous explanatory piece:
The Indian government has called for a boycott of Chinese products, but has not ventured so far as to ban Chinese hardware. It has however banned 59 Chinese-developed apps including TikTok, ShareIt, Weibo, UC Browser and more, apps which have hundreds of millions of users in the country.
In its statement, the Indian government said the apps were "prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state, and public order."
As TechCrunch reports, both Apple and Google have complied with the ban, removing the listed apps from their respective stores. Apple did not comment on the move, Google said it had "temporarily blocked access" whilst it reviewed the interim order. According to the report, some developers, including ByteDance (which makes TikTok), have voluntarilty restricted access to their apps in India.
The move marks the latest turn in a series of escalations between the two countries, with no forseeable resolution in sight.
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