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India bans Chinese apps including TikTok and PUBG in “digital strike”

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Govt of India bans 47 more Chinese apps which were variants and cloned copies of the 59 apps that were banned in June. These banned clones include Tiktok Lite, Helo Lite, SHAREit Lite, BIGO LIVE Lite and VFY Lite. <br>Over 250 more apps under radar including PubG. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DigitalStrike?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DigitalStrike</a></p>— Punit Agarwal (@Punitspeaks) <a href="https://twitter.com/Punitspeaks/status/1287688028169756672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 27, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Watch how India is cornering China from all sides to give it the taste of its own medicine? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SoSorry?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SoSorry</a><br>Previous episodes: <a href="https://t.co/9mkzMXnfar">https://t.co/9mkzMXnfar</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/India?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#India</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/China?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#China</a> <a href="https://t.co/ooYvhNNHMY">pic.twitter.com/ooYvhNNHMY</a></p>— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) <a href="https://twitter.com/IndiaToday/status/1289939178084433924?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 2, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Continuation of the digital strike? By the media, that is…
 
Abdullah719 said:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Watch how India is cornering China from all sides to give it the taste of its own medicine? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SoSorry?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SoSorry</a><br>Previous episodes: <a href="https://t.co/9mkzMXnfar">https://t.co/9mkzMXnfar</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/India?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#India</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/China?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#China</a> <a href="https://t.co/ooYvhNNHMY">pic.twitter.com/ooYvhNNHMY</a></p>— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) <a href="https://twitter.com/IndiaToday/status/1289939178084433924?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 2, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Continuation of the digital strike? By the media, that is…
Click to expand...

That maybe the most cringiest thing ever....what a joke India Today has become
 
Buzz of TikTok return causes uncertainty; investors now in a wait-and-watch mode

Mumbai: Speculation is rife about the possible return of TikTok in India, on the back of recent media reports of Microsoft looking to buy the Chinese app's India operation. Twitter too has held initial discussions for a deal to purchase TikTok US, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday. In the wake of such developments, most investors who were looking to bet on homegrown short-video apps which have proliferated in the past one month may hold out before there is further clarity.

Things have been changing every few days. “There is an opportunity to capitalise on the short-video-sharing market but for creating a better product than TikTok instead of a TikTok clone,” said Rutvik Doshi, managing director at Inventus Capital Partners. “Money will continue to flow into this space as some investors would want to take a bet depending on their risk capital. But some, like me, would not jump into an opportunity yet as the full picture is still not clear.”

“Smaller companies may find it hard to raise money; however, larger entertainment platforms which have expanded into this space have seen major growth and cementing of advantage..,” said Karan Bedi, CEO of video-streaming platform MX Player, which launched a short-video app MX TakaTak recently. MX Player is owned by Times Internet, a part of the Times Group, which publishes this paper. ET reported last week, in terms of time spent per user, TakaTak led the charts with 23 minutes, followed by 10 minutes for ShareChat’s Moj, and 7.4 minutes for Dailyhunt’s Josh, SimilarWeb data on July 26 indicated.

Content Creators Evaluating Alternatives
The high-stakes sale of TikTok in the US and in India, which is its biggest market with more than 650 million downloads, according to Sensor Tower data, has changed the course of events, say investors. “The plot is muddled right now,” said a VC tracking the space on the condition of anonymity. “In the first week of the ban, every investor was keen to be a part of the fundraising cycle for the two TikTok alternatives — Mitron TV and Chingari. The week after, five other players came up and that spooked everyone,” this VC noted.

“Even if they (TikTok) get acquired by Microsoft or Twitter, they’ll have to sort the US market issues first, which gives us a 3-6 month headway to build our social capital among Indian users,” said Sumit Ghosh, cofounder of Chingari. The short-video-sharing app scooped up $1.3 million in funding earlier this week.

Mitron TV, another player in the fray, is said to have raised a new funding round of $5 million early July. But no big money has yet come into most other local rivals of TikTok.

The news of global players like Microsoft entering the fray only adds another layer of uncertainty to the current situation. “It may impact investors who’ve written fat cheques to some of the TikTok clones,” said the VC quoted earlier.

Chingari’s Ghosh said the acquisition won’t affect his app’s prospects. “TikTok had a lot going for it under ByteDance. With Microsoft, it will, in all likelihood, be reduced to a product team within a corporate giant,” he added.

TikTok will also have to work towards rebuilding its ranking on the Play Store when it returns, said Doshi of Inventus. “There is a strong anti-Chinese sentiment among people. To communicate its changed ownership from Chinese to American, if the acquisition takes place, will also take time. Many people still don’t know that Instagram is owned by Facebook,” he added.

ByteDance, as per a Reuters report, saw its revenue soar more than 130% year-on-year to around $5.6 billion for January-March 2020, while Bloomberg reported that the company made over $3 billion in net profit last year on revenues of over $17 billion. As per industry estimates TikTok-owner ByteDance’s India revenue could be $4-5 million per month.

Dev Khare, partner at Lightspeed India Ventures, argues that localised social media apps is a large space to go after, with 250 million to 300 million users on a monthly and potentially on a daily basis, too. “It was a big space even before the ban on Chinese apps,” he said. Lightspeed is an investor in ShareChat.

“The best product — that is able to achieve user retention, great creation tools, licences, product organisation, and access to capital — will win,” added Khare.

Options for Content Creators
In the early days after the ban, creators didn’t take TikTok alternatives seriously. Their answer to “What happens when TikTok is back?” was simple and straightforward: “We will leave everything else and go back on TikTok.” As days and weeks passed, this answer became more complicated. Creators saw more homegrown players raising institutional funding as an indication of the changing sentiment in the content ecosystem. Many started evaluating the current crop of short-video-sharing platforms to sustain themselves should the ban become permanent.

Several top TikTokers are known to have annulled their exclusive contracts with ByteDance’s flagship app over the last month and signed similar exclusive contracts binding them for least six months with one or the other homegrown short-video player which either come with a deep pocket or has raised funding over the last fortnight.

“The new exclusive contracts could also funnel the rise in popularity of Category B influencers on TikTok upon its return, as the Category A creators might already be contract-bound with other players,” said Prince Khanna, founder of Eleve Media, one of the leading influencer marketing platforms in India.

For top TikToker Shivani Kapila from Surat, TikTok’s possible return will be a moment of “major decision-making,” she said. “At that time, every creator will prioritise a platform depending on their mindset and dreams at that stage.” Many of her fellow TikTok creators have moved on to other platforms in the last few weeks. “I still feel I should hold on and wait for TikTok to come back as the platform made me the creator I am today. But if a new shift happens in the meanwhile, I will adapt to it as it is all about the survival of the fittest,” said the 31-year-old. Kapila had over 10 million followers on TikTok as opposed to 200,000 on Instagram at present.

“How soon they’re able to get back is crucial. The more time they lose, the harder it will be for TikTok to get their numero uno status back,” said Lakshmi Balasubramanian, cofounder of Greenroom, a Bengaluru-based influencer marketing agency. TikTok’s success helped the other players understand the market potential, she adds. “Now, if any of the others are able to capitalise the market, TikTok may have to start from scratch upon return.”

Major influencer marketing managers say that creators will still readily go back on to TikTok if and when it returns. “But that won’t necessarily mean they will leave the new platforms they’ve onboarded during this period,” said Gautam Madhavan, founder & CEO of Delhi-based influencer marketing platform Mad Influence which represents over 300 influencers and celebrities exclusively.

https://m.economictimes.com/tech/so...-wait-and-watch-mode/articleshow/77453988.cms
 
India bans Tencent’s PUBG app as takes aim at China tech

NEW DELHI: India on Wednesday banned another 118 mobile apps including Tencent Holdings’s popular videogame PUBG, as it stepped up the pressure on Chinese technology companies following a standoff with Beijing at the border.

The list of 118 mostly Chinese apps also includes applications from Baidu and Xiaomi’s ShareSave.

These “apps collect and share data in a surreptitious manner and compromise personal data and information of users that can have a severe threat to the security of the State,” India’s technology ministry said in a statement.

It added the apps threatened India’s sovereignty and integrity.

Tencent declined to comment, while the Chinese embassy in New Delhi did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The latest ban comes a day after a senior Indian official said troops were deployed on four strategic hilltops after what New Delhi called an attempted Chinese incursion along a disputed Himalayan border.

Tension between nuclear-armed India and China has simmered since June when 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a border skirmish with Chinese troops.

New Delhi has since begun eroding China’s dominant position in India’s internet economy. It began with a ban on 59 apps, which included ByteDance’s popular video-sharing app TikTok, Alibaba’s UC Browser and Xiaomi’s Mi Community app.

Following that ban in June, New Delhi outlawed some mobile apps of Chinese companies, such as Xiaomi and Baidu, sources told Reuters last month.

This prohibition on about 47 apps comprised mostly clones, or different versions of the already-banned apps, but also some new apps.

https://www.brecorder.com/news/40015967/india-bans-tencents-pubg-app-as-takes-aim-at-china-tech
 
Taking on Tencent would be very difficult.. credit to China though they do business in closed doors and don’t see any statements unless..
 
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Is it a coincidence that whenever China deploys its troops we start banning their apps? This is a soft response from a so called superpower. :inti
 
Ironically PUGB might have been the only place where Indians could have notched up a victory against Chinese.
 
Bhaag Viru Bhaag said:
Is it a coincidence that whenever China deploys its troops we start banning their apps? This is a soft response from a so called superpower. :inti
Click to expand...

Which is your own country too bro, just because BJP is useless doesn’t mean India needs to be made fun of..
 
Are there many popular Indian made apps which China may potentially look to ban in response?

Or will they stick to border activity?
 
The Chinese are shocked and don't know yet what's hit them.

A masterstroke by Modi The Protector of Dharma.
 
I saw this meme of how recently Sakshi Dhoni was saying how MSD was spending time playing PUBG in lockdown and then there was a picture of a grinning Gambhir (BJP MP) :))

Obviously it’s not as funny when explained like that but the meme hit the bulls eye.
 
msaaim89 said:
Are there many popular Indian made apps which China may potentially look to ban in response?

Or will they stick to border activity?
Click to expand...

Indians will find an alternative. We did that with Flip Kart, we did that with PayTM and we have one of the largest home grown ISP’s which is no less than any other provider in the world.

As far as border activity goes, it’s not a measuring contest when human lives even if they are soldiers are involved, so that will be taken care of accordingly.
 
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Local.Dada said:
Indians will find an alternative. We did that with Flip Kart, we did that with PayTM and we have one of the largest home grown ISP’s which is no less than any other provider in the world.

As far as border activity goes, it’s not a measuring contest when human lives even if they are soldiers are involved, so that will be taken care of accordingly.
Click to expand...

Indeed it's not, though your behavior is different when it comes to Pakistan borde.

Point is, China has not retaliated with app bans. So the question is, will they just let this slip or are they up to something on the border.
 
Days After PUBG Ban, Akshay Kumar Unveils Made-In-India Alternative FAU-G

Two days after the government announced a decision to block PUBG MOBILE, a wildly popular online multiplayer shooting game, along with over 100 Chinese apps amid renewed tension at the border, a home-grown competitor called FAU-G was unveiled by Bollywood star Akshay Kumar.

Being published by Bengaluru-based nCore games which counts Indian gaming industry veteran Vishal Gondal as an investor, FAU-G is short for Fearless and United-Guards and has pledged to donate 20 per cent of its revenue to the government's fund for paramilitary forces called Bharat Ke Veer set up after the 2019 Pulwama terror attack.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Supporting PM <a href="https://twitter.com/narendramodi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@narendramodi</a>’s AtmaNirbhar movement, proud to present an action game,Fearless And United-Guards FAU-G. Besides entertainment, players will also learn about the sacrifices of our soldiers. 20% of the net revenue generated will be donated to <a href="https://twitter.com/BharatKeVeer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BharatKeVeer</a> Trust <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FAUG?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FAUG</a> <a href="https://t.co/Q1HLFB5hPt">pic.twitter.com/Q1HLFB5hPt</a></p>— Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) <a href="https://twitter.com/akshaykumar/status/1301832896185954304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/fau...veils-made-in-india-alternative-fau-g-2290567
 
Rajdeep said:
Days After PUBG Ban, Akshay Kumar Unveils Made-In-India Alternative FAU-G

Two days after the government announced a decision to block PUBG MOBILE, a wildly popular online multiplayer shooting game, along with over 100 Chinese apps amid renewed tension at the border, a home-grown competitor called FAU-G was unveiled by Bollywood star Akshay Kumar.

Being published by Bengaluru-based nCore games which counts Indian gaming industry veteran Vishal Gondal as an investor, FAU-G is short for Fearless and United-Guards and has pledged to donate 20 per cent of its revenue to the government's fund for paramilitary forces called Bharat Ke Veer set up after the 2019 Pulwama terror attack.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Supporting PM <a href="https://twitter.com/narendramodi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@narendramodi</a>’s AtmaNirbhar movement, proud to present an action game,Fearless And United-Guards FAU-G. Besides entertainment, players will also learn about the sacrifices of our soldiers. 20% of the net revenue generated will be donated to <a href="https://twitter.com/BharatKeVeer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BharatKeVeer</a> Trust <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FAUG?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FAUG</a> <a href="https://t.co/Q1HLFB5hPt">pic.twitter.com/Q1HLFB5hPt</a></p>— Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) <a href="https://twitter.com/akshaykumar/status/1301832896185954304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/fau...veils-made-in-india-alternative-fau-g-2290567
Click to expand...


Dont you think this will help brainwash the already growing Hindu extermmists in the country to go out shooting people?

Also

What is a digital strike? lol
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="in" dir="ltr">Yaar poster toh original banwa lo <a href="https://t.co/ukEB1Padhn">https://t.co/ukEB1Padhn</a> <a href="https://t.co/2HiKgzj1GQ">pic.twitter.com/2HiKgzj1GQ</a></p>— r (@maximustaurean) <a href="https://twitter.com/maximustaurean/status/1301851260325257216?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

:facepalm
 
KingKhanWC said:
Dont you think this will help brainwash the already growing Hindu extermmists in the country to go out shooting people?

Also

What is a digital strike? lol
Click to expand...

Did PUBG drove people towards extremism? So what makes you think this video game will be any different? People who wants to adopt the path of extremism will do it anyway with or without video game. You know it better than me...lol :))
 
Rajdeep said:
Did PUBG drove people towards extremism? So what makes you think this video game will be any different? People who wants to adopt the path of extremism will do it anyway with or without video game. You know it better than me...lol :))
Click to expand...

I dont better than any RSS supporter, never felt the need to kill a human because he loves a quarter pounder :inzi

RSS fanatics cheered rapist of a child, these are the kind of people who will be brainwashed but then again they may end up shooting thier own feet off, so I take it back. :)
 
Rajdeep said:
Days After PUBG Ban, Akshay Kumar Unveils Made-In-India Alternative FAU-G

Two days after the government announced a decision to block PUBG MOBILE, a wildly popular online multiplayer shooting game, along with over 100 Chinese apps amid renewed tension at the border, a home-grown competitor called FAU-G was unveiled by Bollywood star Akshay Kumar.

Being published by Bengaluru-based nCore games which counts Indian gaming industry veteran Vishal Gondal as an investor, FAU-G is short for Fearless and United-Guards and has pledged to donate 20 per cent of its revenue to the government's fund for paramilitary forces called Bharat Ke Veer set up after the 2019 Pulwama terror attack.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Supporting PM <a href="https://twitter.com/narendramodi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@narendramodi</a>’s AtmaNirbhar movement, proud to present an action game,Fearless And United-Guards FAU-G. Besides entertainment, players will also learn about the sacrifices of our soldiers. 20% of the net revenue generated will be donated to <a href="https://twitter.com/BharatKeVeer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BharatKeVeer</a> Trust <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FAUG?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FAUG</a> <a href="https://t.co/Q1HLFB5hPt">pic.twitter.com/Q1HLFB5hPt</a></p>— Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) <a href="https://twitter.com/akshaykumar/status/1301832896185954304?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 4, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/fau...veils-made-in-india-alternative-fau-g-2290567
Click to expand...

Should have named it MOB-G instead. This will give our youth much needed practice to mob lynch anyone who doesn't agree with their pathetic opinions.

For the cover photo they can use the following picture

mob_lynching_1.jpg
 
Bhaag Viru Bhaag said:
Should have named it MOB-G instead. This will give our youth much needed practice to mob lynch anyone who doesn't agree with their pathetic opinions.

For the cover photo they can use the following picture

mob_lynching_1.jpg
Click to expand...

Yes just like the Bangalore riots. Can you provide us a picture of the same?
 
India bans 43 more mobile apps as it takes on China

India banned 43 mobile apps on Tuesday, including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s e-commerce app Aliexpress, in a new wave of web sanctions targeted at China after the neighbours’ months-long standoff on their rugged Himalayan border.

The 43 mostly Chinese-origin applications, which also include a few dating apps, threaten the “sovereignty and integrity of India”, the technology ministry said in a statement.

India has previously banned more than 170 apps, saying they collect and share users’ data and could pose a threat to the state.

The moves, which India’s technology minister has referred to as a “digital strike”, were initiated after 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a skirmish with Chinese troops at a disputed Himalayan border site in June.

The Chinese embassy in India said on Wednesday it “resolutely” opposed the ban. Alibaba did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Aliexpress is not a major player in India’s fledgling e-commerce market, which is led by Walmart Inc’s Flipkart and Amazon.com Inc’s local unit. It is, however, popular with some motorcycle enthusiasts and small shopkeepers, who use it to source cheap goods.

The move is another setback for Chinese giant Alibaba, which is the biggest investor in Indian fin-tech firm Paytm and also backs online grocer BigBasket.

Its subsidiary UC Web laid off staff in India earlier this year after New Delhi first banned 59 Chinese-origin mobile apps that included UC Web’s browser and two other products.

The Chinese tech giant was also forced to put on hold its plans to invest in Indian companies following the border tensions between the two nuclear-armed countries.

China expresses ‘serious concerns’
China on Wednesday demanded India to rescind the ban on more Chinese mobile phone apps. A foreign ministry spokesman accused India of violating global free-trade rules and discriminating against Chinese companies.

China said it had “serious concerns” about the move and India’s “so-called pretext of upholding national security”.

“The relevant methods clearly violate market principles and WTO guidelines, and severely harm Chinese companies’ legal rights and interests,” said foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian at a regular press briefing in Beijing.

“India should immediately redress these discriminative methods to avoid even bigger damage to bilateral cooperation,” he said.

India’s slew of app bans has also jolted the ambitions of Chinese tech titans such as Bytedance and Tencent in the South Asian country, which is trying to reduce Beijing’s influence on its burgeoning internet economy.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1592330/india-bans-43-more-mobile-apps-as-it-takes-on-china
 
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">India is among the biggest users of Chinese surveillance cameras <a href="https://t.co/Q0qNltpeJu">https://t.co/Q0qNltpeJu</a></p>— Quartz (@qz) <a href="https://twitter.com/qz/status/1339853543889489920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 18, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
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