A viral WhatsApp forward claims that the National Informatics Centre has issued an order to restrict certain Chinese applications on the android and Apple app stores.
The message goes on to say that following a meeting with Google and Apple, the government of India has instructed that several Chinese applications be restricted from the respective stores with immediate effect.
The Logical Indian received a request on the Fact Check number to verify the same.
The apps listed in the viral forward include TikTok, VMate, Vigo Video, LiveMe, Bigo Live, Beauty Plus, CamScanner, Club Factory, Shein, Romwe, and AppLock.
Mobile games like Mobile Legends, Clash of Kings, and Gale of Sultans are also listed.
The message also states that these apps are alleged to hold the privacy of the user at risk, and could compromise the sovereignty of the country.
The forward gained momentum amid tensions at the LAC in Ladakh between India and China and social media stir over the boycott of Chinese apps and products.
Claim:
Government of India has issued a memorandum and directed Google and Apple to restrict several Chinese applications from the respective stores with immediate effect.
Fact Check:
The claim is false.
The document has not been issued by the Government of India.
No such order was issued by the bodies mentioned in the message.
Below is a screenshot of the website of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. One can clearly see the latest memorandums issued by the ministry. None of those matches the viral forward.
In fact, the ministry is usually referred to as ‘MeitY’ but the fake memorandum spells it as ‘Moity’.
For comparison, below is a typical office memorandum issued by the MeitY. As is clear it is vastly different from the fake memo.
Further, both the ministry retweeted the PIB Fact Check post which stated that the memorandum was fake.
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