Indian government bans 59 Chinese-owned apps, including TikTok

• The ban also affects messaging app WeChat and community and video call apps from Xiaomi — India's top smartphone vendor.
• Read the full list of blocked apps.

The big picture: The decision comes amid heightened tensions between the two Asian giants, after 20 Indian army troops were killed in a violent clash with Chinese forces in a disputed border region high in the Himalayas.

What the Indian government is saying:

• "The Ministry of Information Technology has received many complaints from various sources including several reports about misuse of some mobile apps available on Android and iOS platforms for stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users’ data in an unauthorized manner to servers which have locations outside India."
• "The compilation of these data, its mining and profiling by elements hostile to national security and defence of India, which ultimately impinges upon the sovereignty and integrity of India, is a matter of very deep and immediate concern which requires emergency measures."

Go deeper: Defense Department produces list of Chinese military-linked companies