Posted on 07/02/2020 10:32:58 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
NEW DELHI—India has ordered telecom companies and other internet providers to stop access to 59 banned Chinese-origin apps, according to notices seen by Reuters, intensifying efforts to crack down on such businesses following a border clash between the nations.
The Department of Telecommunications (DOT) said internet operators should “immediately block” access to such apps and their websites, warning of legal action if they fail to do so, according to notices issued late on June 30.
The department’s order came after India’s government this week banned several Chinese apps, including ByteDance’s TikTok, Alibaba’s UC News, and Tencent’s WeChat, citing “threat to sovereignty and integrity,” a move seen as India’s pushback against Chinese firms following a border clash with its neighbor.
The websites of some of the banned apps—such as Alibaba’s UC News—were no longer accessible from some internet networks in India. While Bytedance moved to block TikTok in India soon after the government’s announcement, several other banned apps were still available for download.
The Indian government has separately reached out to Google and Apple formally and asked them to remove the apps from their app stores so that new downloads can be restricted, two sources told Reuters.
And for apps already downloaded on phones in India, in coming days, the telecom companies will find ways to make them unusable, three industry sources said. It was not immediately clear how the companies will do so.
“It’s very tough to block (downloaded apps), takes time,” said one of the telecom sources.
Google and Apple didn’t respond to a request for comment. Three top telecom operators—Reliance’s Jio, Vodafone Idea, and Bharti Airtel—also didn’t respond.
(Excerpt) Read more at theepochtimes.com ...
We need direct auto help to delete/neutralize the Covid 19 apps installed without our permission on our Samsung smart phones.
no tiktok for sanjay!
Do you have any info on that? It is a major privacy concern that needs push back to carriers and manufacturers.
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