India has permanently banned a number of apps backed by some of China’s top internet companies, the country’s media reported on Tuesday, formalizing a temporary measure that was taken last year over privacy and national security concerns, reported Caixin.
The group of banned apps had initially been accused of engaging in activities detrimental to India’s sovereignty, integrity and defence of the country, along with “stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users’ data in an unauthorized manner to servers which have locations outside India.”
The ban was made permanent after the government was dissatisfied with the app operators’ responses to a list of follow-up points it wanted clarified following the initial action, Indian media Mint reported.