Chinese Apps Ban in India: Companies Asked If They Censored Content, Worked on Behalf of Foreign Govts
Chinese language corporations reminiscent of TikTok-owner ByteDance were requested by means of India to respond to 77 questions on their apps which have been banned by means of New Delhi, together with whether or not they censored content material, labored on behalf of international governments or lobbied influencers.
India’s Data Generation Ministry has given the firms 3 weeks to reply to the questionnaire, which has been noticed by means of Reuters, and mentioned unspecified follow-up motion could be taken, two resources mentioned.
India remaining month banned the apps following a border conflict between infantrymen from the 2 international locations, which left 20 Indian infantrymen lifeless. India has mentioned the apps pose a danger to its “sovereignty and integrity”. China has criticised the ban.
The 59 banned apps, which come with TikTok and Alibaba’s UC Browser, have been requested whether or not they acted on the behest of any international executive to edit, advertise or demote any content material.
One theme of the questionnaire is whether or not content material was once censored after an assault remaining yr performed by means of a Pakistan-based militant team in Pulwama district in Kashmir. The assault killed no less than 40 Indian law enforcement officials and heightened tensions between India and Pakistan.
“Within the aftermath of the Pulwama Assault of 2019, did the corporate/app censor content material with regards to the assault or its perpetrators?” the query reads.
TikTok mentioned it was once running to reply to the ministry’s queries and that it complied with all Indian rules, including that customers’ knowledge safety and privateness have been its most sensible priorities.
The app ban has jolted the ambitions of ByteDance in India, the place its TikTok video app was once massively standard.
Neither Alibaba nor the Indian ministry spoke back to requests for remark.
A supply aware of the federal government’s considering mentioned the queries have been in step with federal procedures and the similar questions have been despatched to all affected corporations.
One query seeks to analyze if corporate executives in India communicated with movie stars, social media influencers or reporters to advertise any content material, although the verbal exchange was once no longer for industrial functions.
Different queries have been round advertisers, industry buildings, taxation practices and privateness insurance policies, the record confirmed.
The federal government additionally requested the app corporations whether or not they had confronted any investigation in the US, Ecu Union or somewhere else for surreptitiously harvesting consumer knowledge.
