India pressures Chinese firms on data security

Smartphone makers and creators of internet browsers have become the latest Chinese companies to find themselves the subject of scrutiny by the Indian government, with New Delhi insisting they prove they are keeping customer data safe. The Financial Times reports that Indian officials have demanded that smartphone makers, predominantly Chinese, co-operate with a security audit to check whether the data they have on Indian users is secure. One official said 30 companies in total had been asked to provide information to investigators, one of which is the Alibaba-owned browser UCWeb, which has more than 100m monthly active users in India, claiming a 57% market share. The move is the latest example of Indian authorities taking action against Chinese companies, having banned them from investing in the Indian power grid in May. Relations between the two countries have deteriorated since then, with the two armies involved in a stand-off at Doklam, near their border with Bhutan.