Implications Of Banning Chinese Apps In India

-Blog by Rujuta Jog.

Hello, Welcome back to Lawareness! In this blog, I included reasons behind banning chinese apps, their effects on India and China in very easy language because so many people are still complaining about banning apps, so I tried to create awareness about it. Also I've suggested substitute for chinese apps. Please share this Blog with your friends and family. Feedback and suggestions are always welcome.

Introduction: India and China were maintaining good relationship with each other in several ways economically, politically etc. Both are members of several international cooperation bodies like the United Nation System Organizations, BRICS, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (India is the largest shareholder in the AIIB) etc. Chinese troops attacked Galwan valley at Ladakh and in this face off 20 Indian Army soldiers were killed.

Amidst the rising tensions with China, the Indian Government through its Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has recently banned various Chinese applications including Tik Tok, Shein, WeChat, Pubg etc., owing to ‘prejudicial’ to sovereignty and integrity in India, defense of India, the security of State and public order. The Ministry of India has banned these applications by invoking its powers under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 was introduced by an amendment to the act in 2008. ‘It gives the Central Government the power to block public access to any information online- whether on any website or mobile apps.

Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Minister for Communications, Electronics and Information Technology and Law & justice asserted that this ‘Digital Strike’ was done for safety, security, defense of India and to protect data and privacy of India.

Why these apps are banned?

India banned dozens of Chinese apps in the wake of deadly clashes at the border stand-off. China violated the peace treaty between the countries. Galwan Valley clash and killing 20 Indian Army soldiers on the border area and then the news of threat to the privacy of data of Indian users added fuel to the situation and worsened the ties between the two countries. Ministry of India stated that, these apps are ‘malicious’, indicating several complaints against these apps of unauthorized transmission of data to the servers which have locations outside India. The government has also said that, many people have filed a complaint about privacy loss, stealing data and transmission of user’s data while using these apps in representations to the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In.) The Ministry also said that it had issued “exhaustive recommendations” from the Indian Cyber Crime coordination centre at the Home Ministry.

According to Government, this banning strategy comes in the backdrop of the current stand-off along with the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh with the Chinese troops as it will cause the largest sweep against the Chinese Technology Companies.

How large is the user base in India for these banned apps?

Estimates by Sensor Tower show the video-sharing social networking app, Tik Tok, for instance, has seen about 611 million downloads in India over the app’s lifetime, while estimates of active users vary with the highest pegged at 200 million. According to media reports, Share-it which uses to share files, apps, movies etc. has about 400 million users. Stat counter places the Alibaba-owned UC browser second in India Market share at 10.19%, after Google chrome 78.2%. Other reports estimate its user base at 130 million.

Positive impacts of the Ban:

• To safeguard the Sovereignty and integrity of India: One of the primary reasons for such notification of the banning of the applications was that these particular apps infringe the personal data and prejudice the privacy of the Indian citizens. So, the state to safeguard the interest and provide security against these evil practices undertook this step. While referring to the ban of apps, Lieutenant General Harbhajan Singh PVSM, and former Signal officer-in-chief of the Indian Army stated that “This is a symbolism which is very important. These apps are very dangerous because the Chinese can put any bugs in the software. When you play games on your phone or on various sites, you send millions of messages to those sites and China can track where the messages are coming from, and that can cause harm to an individual and the nation as a whole.”

• India as an IT superpower: India is a big market for Chinese apps. Out of the ten most downloaded apps in India, six of them are Chinese, while the other four are of US origin. India and China are definitely counted seriously among emerging powers in IT, but competitiveness, as defined by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) study is a much more complex game. It is no longer a question of whether India has arrived in the world-wide IT marketplace, but as to whether the country can assume the leadership position in this segment and whether it can emerge as the Superpower in the global IT arena, ahead of the more experienced, mature competitors such as the USA, UK, Australia, China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Ireland, and the Latin American bunch? The answer lies in the countless studies conducted by Indian and global IT industry associations, in the projections set forth by well-known business intelligence majors and global consultancy firms and in the faith vested by the Indian Government in this burgeoning sector. According to the sources, the Indian IT industry is set to achieve higher goals and cross more momentous milestones appears to be the viewpoint binding these disparate think tanks.

• No longer a reliance on passive diplomacy: Through these bans, India has sent a message that it is no longer a victim of China’s Nibble and Negotiate policy and shall renew the terms of the engagement. China’s market in India may have generated just $5.8 million in revenue for the year ended March 2019, but with the rapid acceptance of users more recently, the stakes seem to be rising. According to a Reuter’s report, when Tik Tok was briefly banned last year in India on the grounds that it was allegedly promoting pornography, the company had told a local court that it was losing around $15 million a month because of the ban. Eventually, the App was permitted to operate.

• Destruction of the dream of digital superpower: The ban imposed may affect China’s technological growth and development in the 21st century and by this blocking of Chinese apps in India, China will receive a lot of drawbacks which might destroy the ambition of China to become a Digital Superpower of the world in the 21st century.

• Made in India Applications (Substitute for banned apps):1.India developed ‘Chingari’ app which is substitute for Tik Tok. 2. Jio Meet app. 3. Zoho Doc Scanner app has replaced the Cam Scanner. 4. AatmaNirbhar app. 5. Indian originated Hike Messenger. 6. India originated upcoming game FAUG is the substitute for banned game PUBG. 7. Aarogya Setu app is the substitute for any other health app. 8. Indian originated ‘Wein’ shopping app which is substitute for any shopping app especially Shein. 9. Jioswitch has replaced Shareit. 10. JioSaavn and Ganna music apps. 11. MX player is an Indian video streaming platform. 12. You can download any Indian news channel app instead of UC news or any other news apps.

Problems faced by Indian users after banning these apps

Generally these instructions are imposed by the Central Government by an interim order through a ‘geo-block’, i.e. a technological measure which restricts access to content based on the user’s IP address. Though those people who are already having these apps in their mobile phone could access it but cannot use its latest features and the new user cannot download it as it is temporarily suspended from the Google play store and Apple store. Chinese apps were very popular among Indian users due to its easy accessibility. UC browsers, Cam Scanner were very popular because their functions were so easy and its download rate and review on Google play store shows how users were contented from them. Then comes Tik Tok which was known as musically earlier, a short video maker which has made a very large user base in the country due to its easily accessible and attractive features which helped the people living different parts of the country to show their talent and become famous by shooting small videos. So many talented Indian Tik Tok stars reached millions of fans on Tik Tok and these stars were inspiration to many strugglers. And also they were earning good money from their videos. After banned, these stars are also struggling to show their talent. In India, there were so many YouTube gaming channels based on Pubg and these gamers were actually getting money from Pubg because they secured their rank in the world.

But then one cannot ignore the repercussion of these apps as its usage was addictive in nature and has made people fail for it without thinking about its consequences and then its ban by the Government of India had almost hit the mental health of those people. As of June 2019, it was estimated that, these were 120 million monthly Tik Tok users and 175 millions Pubg users in India.

How does the ban affect Chinese app providers?

The potential loss of advertising revenue impacts app-makers. Tik Tok’s parent ByteDance Ltd. recorded a double of global revenue to $17 billion in 2019, over the previous year, with $3 billion in profit. In India, business may have yielded only $5.8 million in revenue for the year ended March 2019, but with quicker user adoption more recently, the stakes seem to be getting higher. When Tik Tok was banned briefly in India on the grounds that it reportedly promoted pornography, the company had told a local court that it was losing roughly $15 million a month due to the ban, according to a Reuters report. The app had subsequently been permitted to operate.

China’s response to the Ban

The Chinese Government is accusing Indian Government’s step of banning Chinese apps in India as a discriminatory measure and termed the act in violation of World Trade Organization rules. Ji Rong, the spokesperson of the Chinese embassy in India said, “India’s measure selectively and discriminatorily aims at certain Chinese apps on ambiguous and far-fetched grounds, runs against fair and transparent procedure requirements, abuses National security exceptions of the WTO rules. It also goes against the general trend of international trade and E-commerce, and is not conductive to consumer interests and the market competition in India.” Surprisingly, they have also banned foreign sites such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Whatsapp. They justify it by framing the ideas of internet governance as a sovereignty issue. Arguably, India could also argue that its move is a retaliatory move against Chinese filtering.

Conclusion: The world today recognizes that one of the main sources of economic development in any country lie in the digital sector of the economy and there is no doubt that this sector can be called as the electronic backbone for the advantages that are not only useful and necessary for present times but also for future developments. India recognized the importance of digital sector and safety of the country and banned various Chinese apps. The move of the Indian Government has brought hope in the hearts of the citizens that the Government will not sit quietly if the other country does not respect India and will give a befitting reply to it. It is a kind of revenge taken by the Government of India from Chinese Government for their unnecessary steps taken on the border area to raise disputes. This step is really helpful for our own country. This step of Indian government is supported by the other countries like France and The USA. Though this move is appreciated by many countries but it is not free from cons as China will not sit quietly on this but overall if we focus on this it has more positive sides than the negative sides like, this move gave Indians a chance to show their talent in app development and help the country to bring up the economy and encourages the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative of the Central Government whose motive is to motivate Indians to work on their skill and not to depend on anyone for any kind of support just like Mahatma Gandhi’s Swadeshi Movement. So, from all these initiatives we can hope for the better future of our country.

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