The Centre has mandated an 'urgent' and 'emergency' ban on almost 230 Chinese apps, including 138 betting apps and 94 loan lending apps, according to media reports.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has initiated the process on the proposal of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the report said.
This comes after the government had earlier imposed a ban on more than 250 Chinese apps, citing the fact that they were "prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of the state, and public order." The apps which were banned earlier included TikTok, Xender, PUBG Mobile Shein, Camscanner, Garena Free Fire and others.
The Ministry started the process of banning and blocking 230 Chinese apps after the MHA proposed it to the MeitY this week. The action was initiated after it was established that these apps fall under Section 69 of the IT Act because they include content that is detrimental to India's sovereignty and integrity.
The move comes against the backdrop of numerous accusations of extortion and harassment of individuals who obtained small amounts of loans through the mobile apps operated by those organisations and individuals. It has been reported that these apps are the brainchild of Chinese nationals who hired Indians and appointed them operational directors. According to reports, desperate people are persuaded to take out a loan, only to have the interest rate increase by up to 3,000% every year.
Individuals advertising these apps put pressure on borrowers when they are not able to repay the interest. They send them obscene messages and threaten to disclose their modified photographs and publicly humiliate them with messages to their contacts. Several such cases have surfaced in some states like Telangana and Odisha.
The issue gained attention following a series of suicides, mainly in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, by persons who took out such loans or lost money to betting applications. States like Telangana, Odisha, and Uttar Pradesh, as well as central intelligence agencies, then urged that the Union Home Ministry take action against these apps.
The MHA analysed 28 Chinese loan lending applications six months ago based on these facts. However, they discovered that 94 apps were accessible through online marketplaces and that others function via links from third parties.
Many apps are no longer available for download on cell phones. However, as per sources the betting apps and games can still be obtained via independent links or websites.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has issued an advisory stating that because betting and gambling are illegal in most parts of the country, advertisements for these betting platforms and their surrogates are also illegal under the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act 2019, the Cable TV Network Regulation Act 1995, and the IT Rules, 2021.
