By forcing internet providers to block Chinese apps, India takes a page out of China’s playbook

China has long banned foreign apps and websites, arguing that it has a right to “cyber sovereignty”
India’s ban on 59 Chinese apps has China’s tech giants facing restrictions similar to those on international competitors back home

Censorship

Masha Borak

Published: 10:00am, 3 Jul 2020

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The endless stream of videos in one of the world’s most popular apps came to an abrupt halt in India this week. TikTok was among 59 apps that the Indian government blocked on Monday on national security grounds following a deadly clash between troops along the Indian-Chinese border.

The new ban goes further than simply removing the Chinese apps from local app stores. Authorities have also ordered internet service providers (ISPs) to bar access to these apps, which includes big names like WeChat, Clash of Kings and Kwai. That means even users who already have the apps installed will still be locked out.

It’s a move that could have been taken right out of China’s playbook.

China has long defended its use of what’s been dubbed the Great Firewall to block foreign websites and apps, citing its rights to preserve “cyber sovereignty.” Facebook, Google and Twitter are all missing on China’s internet. Now it appears that the country is getting a taste of its own medicine.

The story of China’s Great Firewall, the world’s most sophisticated censorship system

“China has, along with Russia, been the most active proponent of cyber sovereignty for a long time, which is a big part of the reason it has a completely different digital ecosystem than the West,” said Lars Gjesvik, research fellow at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs who focuses mainly on cybersecurity.

China maintains that states have a sovereign right to control the internet within their borders, arguing that each nation should govern the internet as it sees fit. China has pitched the idea to BRICS and submitted a working paper on the topic to the United Nations last year.

The Indian government told ISPs to block servers belonging to 59 banned Chinese apps this week. (Picture: Noah Seelam/AFP)

Some people now believe India is following China’s lead and enforcing its own version of cyber sovereignty.

The country has shut down apps before, including TikTok. Various parts of India also routinely cut off access to the internet entirely. In 2019 alone, local authorities blocked internet access 106 times, according to the Internet Shutdowns, a site that tracks service cutoffs across the country.

The longest shutdown was in Kashmir, which lasted 204 days. It came after the government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi scrapped the region’s constitutional autonomy, resulting in unrest. ISPs were asked to install a firewall and whitelist certain websites like education and government platforms and online banking. The solution isn’t as sophisticated as China's Great Firewall, but it’s a step in that direction, argues Nikhil Pahwa, a net neutrality activist and founder of the tech policy publication MediaNama.

But India also saw something you’re less likely to see in China: People have challenged internet shutdowns in court.

“In a democracy like India, it’s always going to be difficult to build a firewall,” Pahwa said.

The border clash in the Galwan Valley in June reportedly led to the death of 20 Indian soldiers. China didn’t report the number of casualties on its side. (Picture: Prakash Singh/AFP)

The country could be looking to forge its own path.

Cyber sovereignty remains a nebulous concept that’s been viewed both positively and negatively, writes Trisha Ray, junior fellow at the India-based think tank Observer Research Foundation. When countries outline their own sovereignty concerns, they aren’t necessarily endorsing China’s views, she told Abacus.

There’s also another argument for countries to exercise more control over internet access: Fighting digital colonialism. Around the world, people have become increasingly concerned that digital infrastructure and personal data have become concentrated in the hands of a few tech giants -- typically companies from the US or China.

Facebook, Google and many other Silicon Valley champions have been diligently collecting our data and using it to improve their products. This has effectively given them monopolistic power, according to the digital colonialism argument. This makes it difficult for local competitors in other countries to grow and build their capabilities.

This is especially true for developing nations, where internet access is still growing. This makes them attractive markets for the likes of Facebook and TikTok, which want to make an early impression on the millions of users going online for the first time.

“The idea of digital colonization was first floated in India in 2015, and there has been a strong move towards tech-nationalism ever since,” Nikhil said.

Is Russia building its own version of China's Great Firewall?

Cybersecurity is another concern. Gjesvik said that cyber sovereignty used to be a niche issue, mostly discussed in countries like China, Russia and Iran. But over the last five years, following the leaks of US National Security Agency documents from Edward Snowden, more countries have found it acceptable to argue for some sort of national governance over digital technologies, he added.

India banned the 59 apps this week on cybersecurity grounds, although it hasn’t ventured into cyber sovereignty arguments. Observer Research Foundation’s Ray also noted that authorities are concerned about protecting user data.

There are also worries over potential disinformation campaigns. TikTok, for instance, has been extremely popular in India. Since 2017, the app has been downloaded 660 million times, according to Sensor Tower. Both the app and its parent company ByteDance have already faced scrutiny from US lawmakers.

But not everyone is convinced that India’s latest app ban is all about security or sovereignty. After all, such concerns against China aren’t new.

To people like Gjesvik and Pahwa, it could simply be a tit-for-tat move.

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