The app ban will have an impact on the holding companies Global power projection begins at home

Context: The overall implication of government recent steps of banning 59 applications of Chinese origin.

Reason for Ban: 

• Violation of privacy and data security: Transfer of data to locations outside India, and compilation, mining and profiling of data may be a potential threat.(China’s National Intelligence Law mandates and incentivises private companies to work with national intelligence agencies and share information with them). 
• Geo Economic perspective: The timing makes it clear that this ban is part of a broader strategy aimed at thwarting China.

Implementation of Ban: 

• All banned apps have already been removed from Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store.
• The government may issue an order to internet service providers and telecom companies to block them. 
• The positives that these apps brought to Indian society should not be occluded and a smooth transition to the number of Indian or non-Chinese alternatives should be facilitated.

Impact of ban: 

• Geoeconomic implication : 

• Limiting Chinese economic and strategic influence, the recent steps are likely to result in alternative forms of capital flowing in (Facebook stake in Jio Platforms) 

• It shows India’s desire to decouple from China. However, a global decoupling effort might yield better results like (United States Federal Communications Commission designated Huawei and ZTE as a national security threat). 

• Geopolitical implications: While the app ban might serve as a strategic tool in the short run, longer-term questions on India’s digital geopolitical stance need to be answered.

• How do we marry our core constitutional values and citizen rights with our strategic needs? 

• Can we conceptualize a holistic digital strategy that closely evaluates all foreign influence in our core information infrastructure?