Government orders ban on 119 apps on Google Play Store on National security ground

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has reportedly issued orders to block 119 mobile apps, primarily video and voice chats platforms linked to Chinese and Hong Kong developers. As per the report only 15 of the apps were actually blocked in India, till 20^th February, whereas the majority of the apps, are still available for download in Google Play Store.

This ban comes after the year 2020, when the government implemented similar bans on popular Chinese apps including TikTok and ShareIT, citing national security concerns. On June 2020, the Indian government banned almost 100 Chinese apps, followed by similar bans in 2021 and 2022, but in much less number.

The blocking orders, reportedly issued under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, also affected some apps from Singapore, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Section 69A empowers central government to restrict public access to online content for national security and public order reasons.  The Previous bans details, were kept confidential by the officials.

Of the 119 apps ordered to be blocked by the government, only three were specifically identified in the report. ChillChat, a Singapore-based video chat and gaming app, ChangApp, a Chinese-developed app created by Blom, and HoneyCam, an Australian app operated by Shellin PTY Ltd, featuring content review mechanisms. These three affected developers notified, that they learned about the ban through Google and expressed willingness to work with Indian authorities to address concerns.

The Government has not publicly disclosed specific security concerns related to these applications. Google’s disclosure on these Lumen Database was published on February 18 but now deleted, and did not specify the timeline for enforcing the remaining blocks.

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