India banned 43 mobile applications on Tuesday including Alibaba Group Holding’s e-commerce app AliExpress in a new wave of web sanctions targeted at China, with whom it has engaged in a months-long stand-off at a Himalayan border site, reported the South China Morning Post.
The 43 mostly Chinese origin apps, which also include a few dating apps, threaten the “sovereignty and integrity of India”, the federal technology ministry said in a statement.
India has previously banned more than 170 apps saying they collect and share user’s data which could pose a threat to the state, said the SCMP.
The moves, which India’s technology minister has referred to as a “digital strike”, were initiated after a skirmish with Chinese troops at a disputed Himalayan border site in June.