New Delhi’s decision to invoke the provisions of Section 69A of the IT Act and impose a ban on 59 Chinese origin apps, Prime Minister Narendra Modi quitting Chinese social media site Weibo and the series of cancellations of high-value commercial deals between some of the Public Sector undertakings and Chinese firms are only some of the retaliatory actions by the Government of India in the wake of border standoff in the Line of Actual Control (LOC) in the Ladakh region. The much-needed ban on Chinese apps clearly underscores the thin dividing line between technology and geopolitics and the need to realise that disregarding national interest priorities have always lead to serious strategic setback and severely jeopardise national security.
Chinese apps like many other posed security threat as once downloaded they were programmed to collect significant information about the user like internet service provider details, network activities, IP address, MAC address, geo-locations, unique device identity (UDI), email addresses, contacts, browsing history and content. These apps are known for gathering personally identifiable user data and storing it in China.
Besides ordinary citizens, huge data can be collected from users connected with defence, government and other security institutions. Collected data can be used for manipulation of individual behaviour or blackmailing. While the advances in communication technologies cannot be overlooked unrestricted imported technology portends dangerous consequences for India as well as the US which became the biggest technology importer from China.
Imposing a ban on Huawei and XTE Corporation of China, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai said, “Both companies have close ties to the Chinese Communist Party and China’s military apparatus and both companies are subject to Chinese law obliging them to cooperate with the country’s intelligence services”. Not a single dollar out of the 8.3 billion dollar fund of the FCC will be used to buy any product or services from China.
In the case of India, China-funded payment gateway was sponsored as the official gateway after demonetisation seriously compromising huge financial database. After persuasion by technology and security experts government created parallel indigenous payment gateways. Meanwhile, Chinese technology companies like Xiaomi, Bytedance, Tencent besides Alibaba had increased their footprints, service outlets and investments in the Indian market clearly challenging the supremacy of American corporations.
Besides banning the Chinese apps the government should take certain positive steps towards strengthening social media sites and their utility parameters without compromising with national security. The void created by the ban on Chinese apps is rapidly filled by apps developed in India. The void is also filled by apps developed in the US and other Chinese competitors. In such a case the data storage and ownership will be with these countries and not be in Indian hands.
A better option would be to encourage Indian companies, technology researchers and start-ups to come forward and fill the market gap in social media space. Awareness about Indian alternatives is equally important as small Indian startups lack in PR and Marketing departments when they are not funded by venture capital firms.
Almost ten years back a team of researchers in the US conducted research on using the buffer space (unused gaps between beamed signals in the VHF and UHF spectrum bands) in broadcasts. This unused buffer spectrum (white space technology) actually used low power frequency that was able to penetrate obstacles such as mountains and thickly forested areas. India with a large rural area needs to use all available spectrum and make the most of the technology to reach remote areas.
The government should undertake a massive programme to educate and inform the people, social media users, service providers and stakeholders that the ban is not another disruptive reform but actually a fillip to atmanirbhar (self-reliance) Bharat. More than three hundred broadband providers in India provide service to 544.89 million wireless broadband customers and 18.42 wired service reaching 40.9 per cent of the population. Yet the digital divide is wide enough for more players and improved technology especially for the rural masses, working class and the student community.
