DoT orders telcos, ISPs to block 59 Chinese apps with immediate effect

MUMBAI: The Department of Telecommunications has ordered internet service providers and telcos to immediately block access to 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, SHAREit and WeChat. The names of the apps were issued in two lists.

“Ministry of electronics and IT has issued directions for blocking of 35 apps,” DoT said in an order late Tuesday, which ET reviewed. “The details of all these 35 apps, along with their IP addresses and domain names are enclosed.”

DoT asked the operators to submit compliance reports immediately, failing which action would be taken.

A similar direction containing the details of 24 other apps to be blocked followed the first order, taking the total number of banned apps to 59, tallying with the government’s announcement order on Monday.