Google temporarily blocks access to banned apps in India

Google on Thursday said it has temporarily blocked access to those apps that were still available on the Play Store in India even after the government banned on 59 apps this week.

"While we continue to review the interim orders from the Government of India, we have notified the affected developers and have temporarily blocked access to the apps that remained available on the Play Store in India," a Google spokesperson said.

On Tuesday, the Indian government directed all internet service providers to block the banned apps under the emergency clause of the IT Act.

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The Indian government had on Monday banned 59 Chinese apps amid the India-China standoff at Galwan Valley.

Other than TikTok, the apps which were banned included UC Browser, SHAREit, Baidu map, Shein, clash of Kings, DU battery saver, Helo, Likee, YouCam makeup, Mi Community, CM Browsers, Virus Cleaner, Apus Browser and many more.

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Meanwhile, China's commerce ministry said that China has not "adopted any restrictive and discriminatory measures against Indian products and services". The Commerce ministry said it hoped India corrects its "discriminatory actions against Chinese companies immediately." 

In a similar move, China's foreign ministry had earlier said it was "strongly concerned" over India's ban on Chinese apps.

(With inputs from agencies)