Nusrat Jahan said she had no problem banning TikTok for national security
New Delhi:
Trinamool Congressman Nusrat Jahan voiced concerns about the “strategic plan” to ban applications like TikTok and 58 others related to Chinese ownership. The center banned the applications amid a huge economic reaction against China following the June 15 clashes in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh, in which 20 soldiers gave their lives in India.
“TikTok is an entertainment app. It is an impulsive decision. What is the strategic plan? What about people who will be unemployed? People will suffer like demonetization. I have no problem with it ban as for national security, but who will answer these questions? “Ms. Jahan said at an event in Iskcon in Kolkata today, the ANI news agency reported.
His comments came one day when the CEO of TikTok wrote to employees in India that the Chinese company “will do everything in its power to restore the positive experiences and opportunities they can be proud of.”
“… TikTok continues to comply with all privacy and data security requirements under Indian law and places the utmost importance on user privacy and integrity”, Kevin Mayer, Managing Director of TikTok and chief operating officer of ByteDance, owner of the video sharing app, said in a post on the company’s website.
India’s surprise move affected Chinese tech companies at a time when they are starting to enter the vast Indian market where cell phone usage is high and data cheaper than other countries.
The centre’s decision could also have broader geopolitical consequences as the United States struggles to gain the support of nations to stop using Huawei technologies for 5G networks. India’s actions can give confidence to nations to assess the extent to which they let China collect user data – and potentially economic leverage in future disputes.
Besides TikTok, the other 58 apps with government-blocked Chinese links include WeChat and UC Browser. Sources said intelligence agency contributions suggested that the apps violated terms of use, compromised user privacy, and were used as spyware or malware. In the minutes after the announcement, the TikTok account of the Indian government MyGov, which had 1.1 million followers, was deactivated.
