New Delhi, June 29: The government on Monday banned 59 mobile apps, including China's TikTok, SHAREiT and WeChat, terming them prejudicial to sovereignty, integrity and national security.

In an official statement, the IT Ministry said it has received many complaints from various sources, including several reports about misuse of some mobile apps available on Android and iOS platforms for "stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users' data in an unauthorised manner to servers which have locations outside India". Also Read | TikTok, UC Browser Among 59 Chinese Apps Banned by Govt of India Amid Row With China, See Full List.

"The compilation of these data, its mining and profiling by elements hostile to national security and defence of India, which ultimately impinges upon the sovereignty and integrity of India, is a matter of very deep and immediate concern which requires emergency measures," the statement said. The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, Ministry of Home Affairs, has also sent an exhaustive recommendation for blocking these malicious apps. Also Read | Government of India Bans 59 Mobile Apps Including Tik Tok, UC Browser And Other Chinese Apps: Live News Breaking & Coronavirus Updates on June 29, 2020.

"On the basis of these and upon receiving of recent credible inputs that such Apps pose threat to sovereignty and integrity of India, the Government of India has decided to disallow the usage of certain Apps, used in both mobile and non-mobile Internet enabled devices," it said.

The statement added that this move will "safeguard the interests of crores of Indian mobile and internet users. This decision is a targeted move to ensure safety and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace".

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)