The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology on Wednesday announced a ban on 118 apps including the popular mobile game, PUBG: Mobile, as they were deemed “prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity” of India.
In a press release, MEITY said that it was invoking its power under Section 69A of the IT Act within the relevant provisions of the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking of Access of Information by Public) Rules 2009 in view of “emergent nature of threats” has decided to block 118 mobile apps since they are “engaged in activities which is prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India , security of state and public order.”
PUBG: Mobile had over 119 million installs in India by the end of 2019.
“The Ministry of Electronics and 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 unauthorised 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 upon the sovereignty and integrity of India, is a matter of very deep and immediate concern which require emergency measures,” the order read.
MeITY added that the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, the Ministry of Home Affairs had also sent an “exhaustive recommendation” for blocking these “malicious” apps.
“Likewise, there have been similar bipartisan concerns, flagged by various public representatives both outside and inside the Parliament of India. There has been a strong chorus in the public space to take strict action against Apps that harm India’s sovereignty as well as the privacy of our citizens.”
The order cited recent “credible inputs that “information posted, permissions sought, functionality embedded as well as data harvesting practices of above stated Apps raise serious concerns that these Apps collect and share data in surreptitious manner and compromise personal data and information of users that can have a severe threat to security of the State.”
Other apps that are now banned include AliPay, Baidu, WeChat Work, WeChat Reading, and several games. You can view the full list of the banned apps below.
Since the worsening of relations between India and China, the government has announced a ban on over 100 apps of Chinese origin or with Chinese links including TikTok.
Reactions to ban
Responding to the ban, Lokesh Suji, Director, Esports Federation of India (ESFI) said there is no need to panic.
"There is no need to panic, the Indian gaming industry has enough wherewithal and can't be termed dependent on one game. This is a great opportunity for Indian Video Game developers to build innovative online multiplayer games. Games like HitWicket, WCC or mythology-based games like Raji which are all homegrown products and now have the great opportunity to encash their presence. While the stress is to become "Aatmanirbhar" I believe this is a great opportunity for the government and the Ministry of Sports to also recognise Esports as a medal-prospect sporting opportunity. The gaming community which is fragmented currently can also benefit if government recognition is given to the sport."
Kapil Jain, Founder and MD of Graphitto Labs, says, "Such bans amidst rising volatility in Indo-China relationships will prove to be beneficial for Indian tech entrepreneurs and soon we will see a surge in better India apps. This will ensure data security and protect user's privacy better than these Chinese applications. In the past few weeks after the initial ban on the Chinese apps, we have seen that many Indian app developers wasted no time and have developed world class applications. Indian-origin CEOs are ruling the world especially those serving in the technology industry. We can develop better applications and be Vocal for Local in technology development too."