The banned Chinese apps—including TikTok, SHAREit, UC Browser, shopping app Club Factory as well as Tencents WeChat—had been served an interim ban order in June.
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ByteDance did not comment on the number of layoffs. India was TikTok’s largest international market before it was initially barred, along with others, in the wake of border tension with China in June. However, people connected with the company said it was dedicated to maintaining a presence in India, albeit with a smaller team for now. “This is an important market for us, and we remain committed to resolving this issue,” said one of them.
TikTok s interim global head Vanessa Pappas and Blake Chandlee, vice president for global business solutions at TikTok, sent an internal email to employees regarding its future in India. A company-wide conference call was held with all India employees to announce the layoffs on Wednesday morning.
App Ban: Several apps have been restricted in India.
Fresh notices have been issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to make permanent a ban imposed on video app TikTok and 58 other Chinese apps in June, reports said on Monday.
When it first imposed the ban, the government gave the 59 apps a chance to explain their position on compliance with privacy and security requirements, the Times of India reported on Monday.
The companies, which include ByteDance s popular video-sharing app TikTok, Tencent Holdings WeChat and Alibaba s UC Browser, were also asked to respond to a list of questions, the newspaper said.
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The government had banned 59 Chinese apps in June last year referring to them as being “prejudicial” to India’s sovereignty, integrity and national security. The list included TikTok, Helo, We Chat, Alibaba’s UC Browser and UC News, Shein, Club Factory, Likee, Bigo Live, Kwai, Clash of Kings and Cam Scanner besides others.
The apps were blocked under section 69 A of the Information Technology Act and relevant provisions under IT rules 2009.
On September 2, the government had banned 118 more apps and in November it blocked 43 new Chinese mobile apps in the country, including shopping website AliExpress. The list of banned Chinese apps so far also includes PUBG Mobile, Snack Video, Cam Card, WeWorkChina and WeDate.