The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) today initiated the process to ban and block 138 betting apps and 94 loan lending apps with Chinese links on an “urgent” and “emergency” basis after communication from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Written by : Priya Pareek
Updated Feb 5, 2023, 12:31 IST
New Delhi: Continuing its crackdown on Chinese apps, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) today initiated the process to ban and block 138 betting apps and 94 loan lending apps with Chinese links. The big move comes as India has already blocked hundreds of Chinese apps over security concerns in the last two years.
MeitY said that it has started the process to block the apps with Chinese links on an “urgent” and “emergency” basis after communication from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The action has been initiated after confirming that these apps attract Section 69 of the IT Act as they contain “material which is prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India”, as per reports.
Since betting and gambling is illegal in most parts of the country, advertisements of these betting platforms as well as their surrogates are also illegal under the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act 2019, Cable TV Network Regulation Act 1995 and the IT Rules, 2021, said the advisory issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB).
These apps, often displaying predatory behaviour to trap individuals in massive debt, can also be misused as tools for espionage and propaganda, besides posing a security risk to the data of the Indian citizens, News18 reported.
India’s crackdown against Chinese apps
In the last few years, the government of India has ordered to ban around 250 Chinese apps citing them to be “prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of the state and public order”. The government has so far banned apps like TikTok, Xender, Shein, Camscanner which were widely used in India and had millions of downloads.
Government authorities said that these apps were purportedly gathering sensitive user data and requesting important permissions. It is said that servers in the hostile nation are receiving and using the acquired data improperly.
In June 2020, India had blocked access to 59 mobile apps and in September it banned 118 more apps under section 69A of the IT Act. The section empowers the government to restrict access to any content in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of the country, security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states or for public order.
In November 2020, the Centre issued an order under section 69A of the IT Act blocking access to 43 mobile apps, including PUBG Mobile, TikTok, Weibo, WeChat, AliExpress.
In February last year, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) issued a notification banning the operations of 54 Chinese apps in India. The apps included CamCard for SalesForce Ent, Beauty Camera: Sweet Selfie HD, Equalizer & Bass Booster, Beauty Camera – Selfie Camera, Isoland 2: Ashes of Time Lite, Viva Video Editor, Tencent Xriver, Onmyoji Arena, Onmyoji Chess, AppLock, Dual Space Lite among others.
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