India bans 100 more Chinese apps, including PUBG, Baidu, and Tencent’s hit games, as border tensions accelerate

In late June, we covered a story about the India government after it banned 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, WeChat, and UC Browser. Since then tensions between China and India have escalated amid border disputes in the Himalayas.  In June, a border clash between the two nations left 20 Indian soldiers dead.

Yesterday, India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology announces a ban on 118 additional Chinese apps with links to China including Tencent’s hit games, PUBG, Baidu, and others. So far, the India government has now banned over 200 mostly Chinese mobile apps, citing their collection of user data as a national security risk. It is the third list of banned apps issued since June.

India government said it had received numerous complaints from “various sources” including several reports about “misuse of some mobile apps available on Android and iOS platforms for stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users’ data in an unauthorized manner to servers which have locations outside India”.

The 118 apps “engaged in activities which [are] prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defense of India, the security of the state, and public order,” the ministry said in a press release

“They are engaged in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order. This decision is a targeted move to ensure safety, security and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace.”

So, what apps are banned? The apps include major gaming titles from companies including Tencent and NetEase were on the list, as well as apps from other Chinese technology giants like Baidu and Alibaba affiliate, Ant Group. Other affected apps include two search giant Baidu’s apps, CamCard’s business card scanner, Alibaba’s Alipay payment app, and its Taobao e-commerce platform, Netease games including Marvel Super War, and  Sina News.