In 2020, India banned 59 Chinese apps including Tiktok.
What you should know
Rumors of the Chinese app, Tiktok, starting to run in India have been spreading widely for the past few days. Some users have said that VPNBegger is the only way to open Tiktok in desktop browser. They opened the Tiktok website and posted its screenshot on social media. However, the Indian government has denied that the ban on Tiktok has been lifted as completely false and misleading.
Since Friday, when Tiktok's 'About' page started appearing, users took it as a sign that Tiktok will be running in India . After users shared screenshots of the page on social media, the rumor spread even more . However, it was not possible to log into the website or upload the video. Tiktok is also not available on Google Playstore and Apple's Appstore in India .
The Ministry of Information Technology issued a statement and made it clear that no order has been issued to unblock Tiktok. According to the ministry, the partially visible TikTok page is only a technical error. However, according to NDTV, some users are currently able to open the Chinese online shopping site, AliExpress.
In June 2020, after the military clash between India and China in the Galwan Valley, India banned 59 Chinese apps including TikTok. Those apps were banned for collecting sensitive data of Indian users and sending it to the Chinese government. In January 2021, India made this ban permanent under Section 69(A) of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Now, when India-China relations are gradually improving, it is seen in a meaningful way that Chinese apps are starting to run sporadically. Both countries have expressed their commitment to increase trade relations. The voice of dissatisfaction is also growing in Nepal because they agreed to trade without participating Nepal in the matter of opening border trade through Lipulek Pass, a trilateral point between India, Nepal and China.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is going to China at the end of this month to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Conference in Tianjin, China.
