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India Bans Nearly 60 Chinese Apps, Including TikTok and WeChat

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  • India banned TikTok and 58 other Chinese apps, citing security and privacy concerns on late Monday night. 
  • The move comes two weeks after a border clash between Indian and Chinese troops left at least 20 Indian soldiers dead, and many believe these bans are a response. 
  • TikTok has responded, saying it has regularly complied with India’s guidelines and does not share user data. China has also said it follows international regulations.
  • India accounts for 30% of TikTok’s 2 billion total downloads. The app has previously been banned in India after a court order raised concerns about pornography, but that ban was lifted after a week.
  • According to Reuters, TikTok’s parent company ByteDance lost $500,000 a day that the platform was banned in India in 2019.

Nearly 60 Apps Banned

India has banned TikTok and 58 other Chinese apps, citing security reasons, just two weeks after a border clash between the two countries left at least 20 Indian troops dead.

India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology released a statement late Monday night saying it was banning apps that are “prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order.”

Among those apps are TikTok, WeChat and Weibo. The Ministry claimed that they had received several complaints from various sources about apps “stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users’ data in an unauthorized manner to servers which have locations outside India.”

The compilation of these data, its mining and profiling by elements hostile to national security and defence of India, which ultimately impinges upon the sovereignty and integrity of India, is a matter of very deep and immediate concern which requires emergency measures,” the statement continued. 

India says this move will “safeguard” internet users in the country. However, while many believe internet security to be a valid concern, many think this move was prompted by escalating tensions between China and India. 

The June 15 clash was the most violent between the two countries in 50 years. In addition to at least 20 Indian troops dying, there are an unknown amount of Chinese casualties. While this dispute was followed by calls for peaceful diplomacy, some thought a response would be inevitable. 

Responses to the Ban

“The decision to ban the apps appears to be largely a political one,” Indian Internet activist and journalist Nikhil Pahwa told Forbes. “There hasn’t been any significant change to the way that these apps work in the last 3 months, and the announcement looks like it has been made to send a signal to China.” 

TikTok has responded to the ban, claiming that the app has continuously followed government regulations.

“We have been invited to meet with concerned government stakeholders for an opportunity to respond and submit clarifications,” Nikhil Gandhi, the head of TikTok India, said in a statement.

“TikTok continues to comply with all data privacy and security requirements under Indian law and have not shared any information of our users in India with any foreign government, including the Chinese Government,” Gandhi continued. “Further, if we are requested to in the future, we could not do so. We place the highest importance on user privacy and integrity.”

A spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry also told reporters on Tuesday that China has been following guidelines. 

“We want to stress that the Chinese government always asks the Chinese businesses to abide by international and local laws and regulations,” he said. 

Some still thought that security-wise, this could be beneficial, including Brahma Chellaney, a former adviser to India’s National Security Council, who said these apps “pose a national security risk.”

Implications for TikTok

This is far from the first time that apps like TikTok have faced heat over privacy concerns. It is also not the first time India has banned TikTok. The app was made unavailable in April of 2019 after a court order raised concerns about pornographic content. The ban was lifted after a week, but according to Reuters, during that short span, ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, lost $500,000 dollars for every day that the app was banned in India. 

According to an April report from Sensor Tower, India has been the biggest driver of TikTok downloads, accounting for 611 million, or 30%, of the app’s 2 billion total downloads. China, which falls second behind India in terms of downloads, only accounts for less than 10% of total installations. 

Many TikTok users in India are gutted by the fact they no longer have access to the platform. One TikTok user in New Delhi told the New York Times that the app is “one of the most accepting platforms when it comes to embracing different people.” 

“There is a ripple effect in TikTok,” another TikTok user told the Times. “Boys from small villages become overnight heroes. It changed their lives. Their status in society grew.”

Right now, it is unclear if this ban will be permanent. Currently, the Internet Freedom Foundation is arguing that this ban is a misuse of law, and calling for more transparency and for government data that led to this decision to be released. 

See what others are saying: (Forbes) (TechCrunch) (Associated Press)

International

95-Year-Old Woman Dies After Police Tases Her in Nursing Home

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The officer involved was suspended with pay and charged with assault.


A 95-year-old Australian woman whom police tasered in a nursing home last week has reportedly died from her injuries.

Clare Nowland, who had dementia and required a walking frame to stand up and move, was living at the Yallambee Lodge in Cooma in southeastern Australia.

At about 4:15 a.m. on May 17, police and paramedics responded to a report of a woman standing outside her room with a steak knife.

They encountered Nowland, then reportedly tried to negotiate with her for several minutes, but she didn’t drop the knife.

The five-foot-two, 95-pound woman walked toward the two officers “at a slow pace,” police said at a news conference, so one of them tasered her.

She fell to the floor and reportedly suffered a fractured skull and a severe brain bleed, causing her to be hospitalized in critical condition.

Nowland passed away in a hospital surrounded by her family, the New South Wales police confirmed in a statement today.

After a week-long investigation, the police force also said that the senior constable involved would appear in court next week to face charges of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, and common assault.

NSW police procedure states that tasers should not be used against elderly or disabled people absent exceptional circumstances.

Following the incident, community members, activists, and disability rights advocates expressed bewilderment and anger at what they called an unnecessary use of force, and some are now questioning why law enforcement took so long to prosecute the officer involved.

See what others are saying: (Reuters) (The New York Times) (CNN)

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International

U.K. Police Face Backlash After Arresting Anti-Monarchy Protesters

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London Mayor Sadiq Khan said that some of the arrests “raise questions” and “investigations are ongoing.”


The Public Order Act

A controversial protest crackdown law in the U.K. is facing criticism after dozens of anti-monarchy protesters were arrested during the coronation ceremony in London over the weekend.

The law, dubbed the “Public Order Act” was passed roughly a week ahead of the coronation for King Charles III. It gives police more power to restrict protesters and limits the tactics protesters can use in public spaces. It was condemned by human rights groups upon its passing, and is facing a new round of heat after 52 people were arrested over coronation protests on Saturday.

In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said protesters were arrested for public order offenses, breach of the peace and conspiracy to cause a public nuisance. The group said it gave advance warning that its “tolerance for any disruption, whether through protest or otherwise, will be low and that we would deal robustly with anyone intent on undermining the celebration.”

It is currently unclear how many of those arrested were detained specifically for violating the Public Order Act, however, some of those arrested believe the new law was used against them.

“Make no mistake. There is no longer a right to peaceful protest in the UK,” Graham Smith, the CEO of anti-monarchy group Republic tweeted after getting arrested. “I have been told many times the monarch is there to defend our freedoms. Now our freedoms are under attack in his name.”

An Attempt to “Diminish” Protests

During a BBC Radio interview, Smith also said he believes the dozens of arrests were premeditated. 

“There was nothing that we did do that could possibly justify even being detained and arrested and held,” Smith claimed. 

“The whole thing was a deliberate attempt to disrupt and diminish our protest.”

Yasmine Ahmed, the U.K. Director of Human Rights Watch, also tweeted that the arrests were “disgraceful.”

“These are scenes you’d expect to see in Russia not the UK,” she wrote. 

When asked about the controversy, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told reporters officers should  do “what they think is best” in an apparent show of support for the Metropolitan Police. 

For his part, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he is looking into the matter.

“Some of the arrests made by police as part of the Coronation event raise questions and whilst investigations are ongoing, I’ve sought urgent clarity from Met leaders on the action taken,” Khan tweeted.

See what others are saying: (The Guardian) (CNN) (The Washington Post)

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International

Foreign Nationals Make Mad Dash out of Sudan as Conflict Rages

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The conflict’s death toll has surpassed 420, with nearly 4,000 people wounded.


As the 10-day-long power struggle between rival generals tore Sudan apart, foreign governments with citizens in the country scrambled to evacuate them over the weekend.

On Sunday, U.S. special forces landed in the capital Khartoum and carried out nearly 100 American diplomats along with their families and some foreign nationals on helicopters.

An estimated 16,000 Americans, however, remain in the country and U.S. officials said in a statement that a broader evacuation mission would be too dangerous.

Christopher Maier, the assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity warfare, said in a statement that the Pentagon may assist U.S. citizens find safe routes out of Sudan.

“[The Defense Department] is at present considering actions that may include use of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities to be able to observe routes and detect threats,” he said.

Germany and France also reportedly pulled around 700 people out of the country.

More countries followed with similar efforts, including the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Canada, China, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Indonesia.

Yesterday, a convoy carrying some 700 United Nations, NGO, and embassy staff drove to Port Sudan, a popular extraction point now that the airport in Khartoum has closed due to fighting.

Reports of gunmen prowling the capital streets and robbing people trying to escape, as well as looters breaking into abandoned homes and shops, have persuaded most residents to stay indoors.

Heavy gunfire, airstrikes, and artillery shelling have terrorized the city despite several proposed ceasefires.

Over the weekend, the reported death toll topped 420, with nearly 4,000 people injured, though both numbers are likely to be undercounted.

See what others are saying: (The Guardian) (The New York Times) (The Washington Post)

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