Internet freedom foundation files RTI against the Ban of the 59 Chinese apps

In response to the recent ban on 59 Chinese apps, Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) has filed a RTI to the government. Government in its reply has said that the information on the ban is “restricted” and “prohibited”. Government further said that various bodies has gone in banning of the apps but did not reveal details of the grounds on which the apps were barred.

“…clause 16 of Information Technology procedure and safeguards for blocking for access of information by public rules 2009 says that strict confidentiality shall be maintained regarding all the requests and complaints received and actions taken thereof. The information sought by the applicant is restricted and prohibited under section, 8 (1)(a) of the RTI Act, 2005. Accordingly, it is not permissible for this CPIO to disclose the same”, RTI reply from government noted.

In the backdrop of refusal of information, the foundation on Twitter handle wrote “such secrecy and opacity in the Blocking Rules is a systemic issue and affects the digital rights of every citizen. We need the govt to cease such opaque blocking and introduce regulatory reforms to increase the transparency and accountability of the govt authorities involved.”

IFF, in its RTI application, demanded an explanation on why 59 apps were blocked and if Section 69A, IT Act and Blocking Rules 2009, were applied. The group had earlier questioned reports of blocking of popular search site DuckDuckGo as well, which was later allowed.

IFF also questioned if objective assessments were carried out before the sites were blocked on grounds of privacy concerns.

Last week, government has banned 47 more apps considering them clone and different versions of some of the earlier 59 banned apps. In the crackdown on Chinese-linked apps, action may soon be taken against more Chinese apps operating from India.

The ban of the apps come up due to the security concerns regarding apps which are of Chinese origin and also related to data sharing and privacy concerns. The government had evoked emergency powers under the Information Technology Act, 2000 to ban these apps, including provisions under Section 66A of the law.