India Bans TikTok and 58 Other Chinese Apps, United States Considers Following Suit
By: Will Reynolds
Photo courtesy of Studio Incendo
Louisville — Following a deadly border dispute that killed 20 Indian soldiers, the Indian government announced the banning of 59 Chinese apps. The apps banned include TikTok, WeChat, and other applications run by Chinese companies with a combined 4.9 billion total downloads in India.
Economic ties between the two nations increased drastically since 2000. China is India’s largest exporter, with India importing more than $70 billion worth of Chinese products in 2018-2019.
Despite their interconnected economies, the recent skirmish between Chinese and Indian forces in the Himalayas fomented widespread anti-China sentiment throughout India. Anti-China protests occurred around the nation, and Indians are calling for a boycott of Chinese products as a whole.
One such incident spread widely across social media shows a man throwing his Chinese-made flat screen TV off of his balcony onto the street where a group then dismantles the TV.
While many support the ban on these Chinese apps and boycotting Chinese products, some worry the policy could be an infringement upon Indian citizens’ freedom of expression protected under the Indian Constitution.
Along with the constitutional implications of a widespread ban on these apps, TikTok provided a platform that allowed many marginalized groups throughout India, like those from rural areas and members of lower castes, to reach a much wider audience compared to other social media apps.
Entrepreneurs in rural India also benefitted from using TikTok to promote their business, which makes the timing of the ban during the ongoing pandemic particularly difficult for many. WeChat, the popular Chinese messaging app, is also crucial for many Tibetan refugees that reside in Delhi to keep in contact with their family still in Tibet.
The ban has not been met with inaction on the part of ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, who in a recent statement said they are considering creating a new headquarters outside of China. Along with India’s ban on these Chinese apps, the United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated the US is also considering a ban on some Chinese apps out of security concerns as well. The United States military, the Department of Homeland Security, and the TSA banned all personnel from downloading TikTok onto government devices at the beginning of this year.