India and China have continuously been under geopolitical tensions since the past many months as a result of which the government of India had banned over 100 Chinese mobile applications from the Indian market including TikTok and PUBG Mobile.
Since the COVID-19 lockdowns began, India has transformed into an investor’s market with immense potential and future capabilities. Under the ongoing wave of boosted digitisation in the Indian start-up ecosystem, investors from all across the globe are investing in India to tap into the untapped potential market.
Having said that, the ban was imposed on 59 Chinese application in June and by September, 118 more applications with roots from the Chinese market were banned from the Indian ecosystem. TikTok and PUBG Mobile were the two main applications that were deeply affected by this decision of the Indian government considering, India being the largest consumer market for these apps.
Recently, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has issued a notice to these apps after reviewing their replies stating that the government of India will continue on its order of ban on these Chinese apps.
TikTok has reportedly confirmed that it has received the notice from the Indian government. The company also mentioned in the statement that TikTok was among the first companies to comply with the Government of India notice issued on 29th June 2020. The statement also said that TikTok will continue to address any concerns that the Indian government might have. Furthermore, TikTok affirms the privacy and security of all users, ensuring that the matter remains at their topmost priority, as mentioned in a report by The Hindustan Times.
Having been banned from the Indian market sent across an intense shockwave down to China because India is one of the largest potential markets where TikTok and PUBG Mobile were used among other applications.
However, for those of you who don’t know, the Ministry of Information Technology blocked these Chinese applications from the Indian market under section 69A of the IT Act which says that the government has the right to block any application that endangers the sovereignty and integrity of India and serves as prejudicial to the security of the State and Public Order.
Anyhow, Chinese companies are ready to comply with any and all government directives as long as it reinstates their services and application into the Indian market. PUBG Corp. has even suggested beginning operations in India ensuring that no user data leaves the country. The company is ready to set-up servers inside the homeland to ensure consumer safety and security, complying with government directives, but it seems that the Indian government is not yet convinced to undo their decision on the ban.
