Banning apps digital strike to protect data: Ravi Shankar Prasad

TERMING THE decision to ban 59 mobile applications with Chinese links as a “digital strike”, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Thursday that while India wants peace, it is capable of giving a “befitting reply” if someone casts an “evil eye”.

Prasad, who holds the Communications, Electronics & Information Technology and Law & Justice portfolios, was addressing a virtual rally for West Bengal.

Defending the ban, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said while India is a “very open regime” and will continue to welcome foreign investments, “including in internet technologies”, these will have to be in accordance with the rules and regulations on “data security and privacy of individual data”.