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India bans PUBG, Baidu and more than 100 apps linked to China

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Re: India bans PUBG, Baidu and more than 100 apps linked to China

#81
post #31

What I wish India would do is this: force Chinese phone companies to ship stock Android and full source code. They sell hundreds of millions of phones in India and will have to find middle ground, and the outcome will be good for everyone.

I would like to see India start replacing inexpensive phones made in China with inexpensive phones made in India. In all cases it's better if India develops their own industry further such that they rely on China less.

If they can make iPhones in India, they can certainly figure out how to build competitive, inexpensive phones to replace those made in China.

Re: India bans PUBG, Baidu and more than 100 apps linked to China

#82
post #69
post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You severely underestimate how Indian teens are addicted to PUBG. Kids have spent lakhs of their parents rupees on it. [1] Some have even dies due to addiction. [2] [1]- https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/delhi/2020/aug/17/pu... [2] - https://www.scoopwhoop.com/news/16-year-old-addicted-to-pubg... There are many more. I just gave a single example.

I dont think I do though. Video game-addicted teens dont constitute 'most' of the Indian population.

Yes. I know because I was one of the millions of addicted kids, and all my friends were too.

Re: India bans PUBG, Baidu and more than 100 apps linked to China

#83
post #51
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The average Indian loves Modi. He is India's most liked leader since Indira. How people are looking at it: > raging pandemic It is not his fault. (to some extent they are correct. Covid and India, was like lighting a match in a haystack. Central Govt.'s response to Covid has been far less shambolic than the numbers make it look) > Massive recession Modi gets to blame it on Covid. Demonetization and an unclear fiscal…

Very interesting comment but I think the bit about Kashmir is naïve. Kashmir doesn’t want to reintegrate (“re”?) and India’s move here has been much like China’s in Hong Kong - a deliberate, authoritarian takeover.

Xinjiang is actually a better equivalent to Kashmir, not Hong Kong.

Depending on what you read, separatism in both places is either fuelled by fundamentalist ideologies or right for self determination. Kashmir is far more tricky though based on how the separatism has been fueled into an armed conflict by a neighbor.

To understand the sentiment in both places, you will need to read the history of both countries, and no it doesn't just start from 1940s.

Re: India bans PUBG, Baidu and more than 100 apps linked to China

#84
post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The founders of modern democracy already questioned the quality of the average citizen and whether they could be trusted with policy making. Hence the US was founded as a representative democracy. Citizens didn't make judgements on war and industry, they made judgements on politicians that would do so on their behalf.

The founding fathers were so concerned about this, that the US was also founded as a representative democracy, where the only people whose opinions counted were wealthy white landowning men. Let's not look at a model where less than 2% of the population could vote as some brilliant stroke of foresight. It was created by aristocrats for aristocrats. Mind you, this post does not advocate for direct democracy, but the o…

You may be right, but that still wouldn't say anything about their decision to construct a representative democracy. It just sounds like you have an ax to grind against a bunch of dead guys.

Re: India bans PUBG, Baidu and more than 100 apps linked to China

#85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Chinese apps have always been a security risk. Mostly youth will be annoyed by lack of their favourite time-waster apps, but there are alternatives.

My point was that we need to do more than just a ban. > Chinese apps have always been a security risk I don't disagree. But I find this phrasing a little unclear. National security and broadly speaking security are different. Indian apps and services don't fare well in the latter category. > but there are alternatives. Yes, but why haven't they seen the same growth naturally? The top grossing page is filled with more…

Chinese government support for its companies.

Re: India bans PUBG, Baidu and more than 100 apps linked to China

#86
post #3

> India's IT Ministry said it had "credible information" the latest batch were acting against India's interests. I'd venture to say many apps are against _everyone's_ interest due to the caustic effects on society they have.

Sort of calls into question the quality of the citizen in a modern democracy if they are asked to make judgments on war and industry and yet they cannot be trusted with online video games.

Or maybe citizens on an individual level benefit more from online video games then they are harmed by them. If I played PUBG, the enjoyment from the game far outweighs the tiny risk that the data I leak to China is going to hurt me someday.

Re: India bans PUBG, Baidu and more than 100 apps linked to China

#87
post #51
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The average Indian loves Modi. He is India's most liked leader since Indira. How people are looking at it: > raging pandemic It is not his fault. (to some extent they are correct. Covid and India, was like lighting a match in a haystack. Central Govt.'s response to Covid has been far less shambolic than the numbers make it look) > Massive recession Modi gets to blame it on Covid. Demonetization and an unclear fiscal…

Very interesting comment but I think the bit about Kashmir is naïve. Kashmir doesn’t want to reintegrate (“re”?) and India’s move here has been much like China’s in Hong Kong - a deliberate, authoritarian takeover.

Yes and No.

Kashmir is the most important strategic post bordering 3 nuclear nations at war-ish with each other.

It is landlocked, with each country controlling different parts of it, and 2 claiming it in entirety.

J&K is a 3 part territory, of which 99%+ of Leh, Ladakh and Jammu want to be a part of India. So, if Kashmir was to be independent, it would be tiny, vulnerable and entirely dependent on neighboring states, that it would be at war with.

Now, there is also the fact that over the last 200 years, native Hindu Kashmiri communities have been driven out (literally, by violence) of Kashmir, so Kashmir independence can't exactly be unilateral.

Lastly, India is a proper democratic nation. States have full rights and religious + cultural diversity is celebrated. I am as biased as it gets, but I'd say India is the best option among Pakistan, India and PRC run China.

Re: India bans PUBG, Baidu and more than 100 apps linked to China

#88
post #66
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can say the same about Facebook and Google in China...You can sideload or use VPN. Some do. Most don't. Blocking FB & Google ecosystems allowed for China to grow their own competitors.

You don't need a VPN here in India. Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1 or DNS over https is enough.

Or use open source apps like Nebulo [0] and https://getintra.org

[0] https://git.frostnerd.com/PublicAndroidApps/smokescreen / https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.frostnerd....

Re: India bans PUBG, Baidu and more than 100 apps linked to China

#89
post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The founders of modern democracy already questioned the quality of the average citizen and whether they could be trusted with policy making. Hence the US was founded as a representative democracy. Citizens didn't make judgements on war and industry, they made judgements on politicians that would do so on their behalf.

The founding fathers were so concerned about this, that the US was also founded as a representative democracy, where the only people whose opinions counted were wealthy white landowning men. Let's not look at a model where less than 2% of the population could vote as some brilliant stroke of foresight. It was created by aristocrats for aristocrats. Mind you, this post does not advocate for direct democracy, but the o…

Fine, then look with even more context. You're forgetting that the founding fathers didn't actually care about white landowning men specifically, that was a product of their time. They thought of women and minorities voting back then like we think of people under 18 voting today -- so normal and "obvious" that you don't even question it.

And their writings about representative democracy and fears about the typical citizen not being qualified to make policy decisions applied to those white landowning men. The voting population was entirely aristocratic equals and yet they still didn't think direct democracy would work.

Re: India bans PUBG, Baidu and more than 100 apps linked to China

#90
post #37
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It seems reasonable to me that most people would not go to such lengths as sideloading apps or employing a VPN to route around these issues.

You severely underestimate how Indian teens are addicted to PUBG. Kids have spent lakhs of their parents rupees on it. [1] Some have even dies due to addiction. [2] [1]- https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/delhi/2020/aug/17/pu... [2] - https://www.scoopwhoop.com/news/16-year-old-addicted-to-pubg... There are many more. I just gave a single example.

China is taking digital addiction very seriously. They have taken strong measures. Some of them are well positioned and others are pure authoritarian. I expect India to follow soon though I have little hope for good long term policies. I expect them to be reactionary and punitive.

People fear education here. I think about why and can only come with few theories.

0] https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8503025/Chinas-digi...

1] https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3016183/inside-chin...

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