Traders' body CAIT boycotts Zoom amid China/US origin doubt; JioMeet emerges alternative

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on Tuesday announced that they had boycotted popular video conferencing app Zoom in what is being seen as an answer to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 'Vocal for Local' call. This move also comes at a time when the app has been under the scanner for having Chinese origins even though the company has denied such allegations saying that it is headquartered in California.

According to CAIT, the use of Zoom would be boycotted across all its trade associations and traders would not use the popular platform anymore. The app had gained a massive user base, crossing 100 million downloads during the coronavirus pandemic which strengthened the need for platform-facilitated communication amongst people working from home.

However, reports suggested that the popular video calling app could have Chinese links since it's founded by Chinese-American CEO Eric Yuan. The Zoom CEO however, has denied all allegations amid the backlash stating that Zoom Video Communications is an American organisation. Earlier this year, the app had also witnessed privacy concerns, with the Ministry of Home Affairs issuing an advisory against its use in schools. 

Read: Is Zoom Chinese? CEO Eric Yuan Calls Zoom American Amid Allegations Of Having Chinese Link

Read: Traders' Body CAIT Writes To 50 Top Indian Industrialists Urging Them To Boycott China

JioMeet--a possible alternative 

Meanwhile, the trader's body has also spoken about looking towards other non-Chinese alternatives for facilitating communication. One of the prime candidates is India's JioMeet app. 

A few days ago, Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries launched JioMeet video conferencing app with unlimited free calling.  According to the company website, JioMeet supports HD audio and video call quality with up to 100 participants and offers features like screen sharing, meeting schedule feature and more. 

The app, which has already seen more than 5 lakh downloads on the Google Play Store and iOS, comes amid the government imposing a ban on 59 popular Chinese apps including TikTok on grounds that they threatened national security and data privacy. 

Read: 'Nation Has A Right To Keep Its Data Safe': CAIT Advocates Banning Huawei From 5G Roll-out

Read: Why Is Zoom Not Banned In India Following Calls For Boycott Of Chinese Apps?