The union government has issued fresh orders to ban over 54 Chinese apps terming them as a threat to privacy and security of Indians, officials aware of the development told. A number of these apps belong to the stable of large Chinese technology firms such as Tencent, Alibaba and gaming firm NetEase and are “rebranded or rechristened avatars” of apps that have been banned in the country beginning from 2020.

The ministry of electronics and IT-- which issued the latest ban order on the grounds that these apps were transferring sensitive data of Indians to servers in foreign countries such as China-- has also directed top app stores including Google’s Playstore to block these applications. “The 54 apps have already been blocked from being accessed in India through the PlayStore,” an official said.

Meity used its powers under the Section 69a of the Information Technology Act, 2000 to enforce the latest order.

Since June 2020, the government has banned a total of around 224 Chinese apps starting with about 59 apps in the first round, including popular applications like TikTok, Shareit, WeChat, Helo, Likee, UC News, Bigo Live, UC Browser, ES File Explorer, and Mi Community.

“Many of the apps from the stable of Tencent and Alibaba, have changed hands to hide ownership. They are also being hosted out of countries like Hong Kong or Singapore, but the data was ultimately going to servers in Chinese destinations,” said a senior official while pointing out that “even apps such as ByteDance-owned TikTok and Tencent’s WeChat were available for download through alternative means such as APK files, and the government has taken cognizance of it.”