The ban on the 59 Chinese owned mobile applications by the Indian government on account of ‘threat to the sovereignty and security’ is being hailed by the Cyber Law experts who believe that this move is aimed at sensitising safe consumption of technology without compromising on the data protection.
Times Now spoke to various Cyber Law experts who suggest that the citizens should support the government’s decision and also gave detail on the handling of these apps on phone post the Centre’s public order on the blockage.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) has blocked the 59 Chinese mobile applications under Section 69(A) of the Information Technology Act, 2000. Post the public order the service providers will hide or remove these applications for the Indian consumers and the telcos shall block the IP addresses of these websites.
Cyber Law expert and an advocate Dr Pavan Duggal says that there can be learning from this move on how to keep our data safe. “These Chinese apps have been collecting your data, so if you have come to know about it today, the fact is that your data has already gone. However, there is nothing much to worry about. You uninstall the said apps as on today and the constant flow of data from your side will stop. There should be learning from this that the next time you download an app, examine its terms and conditions as well as the privacy policy. Read through it to find out how the said app is going ahead and accessing or dealing with your data. If you are not satisfied, do not download the app.”
He added that we all are a part of the same chain and it is our responsibility as the users that we do not become weakling in the chain and thereby jeopardize not only the cybersecurity but also the stability of the chain and cybersecurity of the ecosystem as a whole.
On the treatment of these apps on our mobile phones post their ban, Dr Prashant Mali, Cyber and Privacy law expert says, “some features on these apps which do not require any connection with the server may still work. However, it is strictly advised to not use these unsupported apps as it can make your phone vulnerable to hacking. “You never know what residual services these rogue apps keep in the phone even if they are removed, so it is better to take a backup of the data and factory reset the phone once for an anxiety-free usage.”
The cyber experts did touch the popular use of the Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) by scores of Indians but have advised that if these apps are used through VPN, one must know that their data is already going out.
Dr Karnika Seth, another Cyber Law expert states that one must use antivirus and anti-spyware. “It is advisable to save your uploaded data and then delete the app.”