Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Miety) has permanently banned 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, WeChat among others.
Earlier these apps were banned in June, 2020 after the relations between India and China hit at an all time low due to the ongoing conflict at the border.
Prior to the ban, the government had sought responses from the companies that are banned regarding their data gathering, mining and sharing practices. According to reports, the government was not satisfied with the response from these companies and issued them a notice last week.
Meanwhile, PubG had launched its India only version but the government said it didn't give any such permission of re-launch as per a report published in Gadgets 360.
After the reports about permanent ban on the apps, the PubG game seems to be in a tight spot because ByteDance (the parent company) had hired many people in India and the team was retained after the ban. But with the latest development it seems unlikely that the company will further continue its operations in India.
TikTok spokesperson while speaking with Mint said, “We
are evaluating the notice and will respond to it as appropriate. TikTok was
among the first companies to comply with the government of India directive
issued on June 29, 2020. We continually strive to comply with local laws and
regulations and do our best to address any concerns the government may have.
Ensuring the privacy and security of all our users remains to be our topmost
priority.”