China uses a ‘Walled Garden’ approach and does not let global platforms enter internet space in its own territory

The banning of 59 Chinese apps by India might come as a solution for data breach and should be followed by other democracies as it may harm them in coming times, an opinion post published in The Washington Times has said.

In his opinion post, Arvind Gupta, a professor of data and digital economy, and the head of the Digital India Foundation, has written that after India banned apps including TikTok saying that they might be used for data harvesting and data breach, officials of United States and Australia are considering taking similar steps.

The opinion piece in The Washington Post suggests that in an environment where countries fear upsetting Chinese investors and democracies pondering upon whether to put restrictions on the internet or not, India’s ban on 59 Chinese apps may help in protecting the democratic rights and values of India’s constitution.

Gupta further writes that China uses a ‘Walled Garden’ approach which means that it does not let global platforms enter internet space in its own territory while on the other hand continues to manipulate the information disseminated across the world by using disinformation, influence ops and information warfare as its weapons.

According to The Washington Post article, some see India’s step as a precedent for the rest of the world, others see it as a concern that it might shrink the internet. The OpEd says that some claim that the step might harm the idea of having a universal internet and might divide it into bits and pieces called splinternets. However, India cannot use its openness to go against its sovereign interests, the article points out.