Reportedly, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has permanently banned TikTok, WeChat, over 59 apps from Chinese companies in India.
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Why Did This Happen?
Earlier, these apps were banned by the government in June 2020.
But now the ban for these apps is permanent , according to the sources.
Further, the government had asked for responses from all the companies that were banned about the data being collected.
They also questioned about this data it was used.
It seems that the government was not satisfied with the response they got.
So, the government has gone ahead and issued a notice last week,
sources said.
It’s Not The First Time
This move did not bode well for the other apps which were banned over the course of 2020.
As we already know about the hugely popular smartphone game PUBG Mobile.
They had attempted to remedy the situation by launching a new, India-only version.
They had announced the PUBG Mobile India in November, after hiring new staff in India.
Although, Afterword RTIs response showed that MeitY had given no permission to the relaunch.
It seems unlikely that the game will be making a comeback in India very soon, considering the latest development.
What About TikTok?
So far, it is yet not clear, what this announcement means.
Since, hundreds of people are employed by ByteDance (Tiktok’s parent company) in India.
Bur sources mentioned that the team in India was retained after the ban, and was participating in global operations.
What Does TikTok Say?
Here the question is, after seeing a permanent ban, will this company continue to proceed in this fashion in India.
“We are evaluating the notice and will respond to it as appropriate. TikTok was among the first companies to comply with the government of India directive issued on June 29, 2020. We continually strive to comply with local laws and regulations and do our best to address any concerns the government may have. Ensuring the privacy and security of all our users remains to be our topmost priority,” according to the company’s latest statement issued to the reports.
Let’s keep a watch on this space for further developments.