Hyderabad: According to data, many of the 59 Chinese apps banned by the government enjoyed extreme popularity in India, as they clocked almost five billion downloads in the country since January 2014.
According to app analytics firm Sensor Tower, the 59 banned apps recorded as many around 4.9 billion total downloads in India since January 2014.
One of the most popular apps was video-sharing platform TikTok, with India contributing to close to 30 per cent of its total downloads.
According to Sensor Tower, India recorded 611 million lifetime downloads of TikTok.
It is not only the lifetime downloads, but also Indian active users, which make up huge numbers.
Legal basis for the ban
The ban has reportedly been enforced under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (Power to issue directions for blocking for public access of any information through any computer resource).
Read: After app ban, experts ask what about Chinese phones?
How will the ban be enforced?
As soon as the Google (Android) and Apple receive copies of the government order, the 59 apps banned will be removed from Google Play Store as well as iOS App Store.
Meanwhile, TikTok has already been removed from both the app stores in India.
According to reports, the government is already in talks with Indian internet service providers (ISPs) and telecom service providers (TSPs) to block all data traffic with these apps. This means that once the procedure is completed, these apps will become non-functional by default.
Read: 'Banned Chinese apps can challenge government order in court'
