India blacklists several Alibaba apps in latest Chinese app curb

The latest ban includes a number of apps from the ecommerce titan such as Aliexpress and video-based shopping platform Taobao Live, as well as a number of dating and gaming platforms. They join other Chinese apps that had already been banned, including Tencent‘s WeChat and ByteDance‘s TikTok.

“This action was taken based on the inputs regarding these apps for engaging in activities which are prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India, defense of India, security of state and public order,” the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said.

The government’s decision to ban another set of apps comes as tensions between China and India continue to rise after 20 Indian soldiers and an unknown number of Chinese troops were killed in border clashes earlier this year. The growing blacklist also stresses India’s plans to cut its dependence on outside solutions, the report noted.

On June 28, India blocked access to 59 Chinese mobile apps, with 118 more banned in September. These include Baidu, Tencent Watchlist, FaceU, Ludo All Star, Alipay, and games PUBG Mobile and PUBG Mobile Lite.