Chinese Apps Are Spying On Us Because Of China's Intelligence Law, Here's How

Dhir Acharya - Jul 28, 2020

India is gradually banning all Chinese apps within the purview of the National Intelligence Law of 2017 of China. What does the law say specifically?

Among several attempts against China following the increasing tension between the two countries, India is gradually banning all Chinese apps that are within the purview of the National Intelligence Law of 2017 of China.

The law, passed on June 27, 2017, and effective from June 28, 2017, gives the CPC (Communist Party of China) the powers to control and collect data from companies within its purview. The important here is that most of the apps are used worldwide.

On July 22, during the G20 Digital Ministers’ Meet, Ravi Shankar Prasad, the Information Technology Minister of India, said:

“Digital economy must go hand in hand with data economy. We need to acknowledge the sovereignty over data. Data must belong to sovereign nations concerned to protect the privacy of its people.”

In its latest move, the Indian government has banned another 47 apps that were acting as clones of the already banned 59 apps from last month. The government is monitoring 250 apps in total, which will be thrown out immediately if posing threats.

Under China’s National Intelligence Law of 2017:

The CPC can monitor and investigate domestic and foreign institutions and individuals.
Chinese intelligence agencies are authorized to seize property, search premises, as well as mobilize organizations and individuals to perform espionage.
Chinese intelligence agencies can do their work in China and outside of China.
Those who violate the law will be put in detention for up to 15 days, can be charged with a crime.

At the same time, the Indian government is collecting evidence from the US and other countries to prove that Chinese companies are spying for the CPC. If you’re wondering why businesses are helping the Chinese governments snoop on India, it’s probably because the biggest companies in the country are backed by the Communist Party of China. All the leaders of the big firms that might be banned in India belong with the CPC, such as Jack Ma from Alibaba, Pony Ma from Tencent, Lei Jun from Xiaomi, and Robin Li from Baidu.