The Indian government has taken action against a number of Chinese betting and lending apps. India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) after a thorough analysis of 288 Chinese apps, announced a total ban of 230 apps. This decision has been taken based on the recommendations of the Ministry of Interior due to the possible access of the mentioned programs to the personal data of Indian citizens.
The ban on hundreds of Chinese apps in India comes after numerous reports of extortion and harassment by micro-lending apps. In some cases, the annual interest rate of the loans received by the users has increased up to 3000%, and if the debtors are not able to repay, they are exposed to threatening messages and even the publication of private photos. In a tragic way, this even caused the suicide of a number of citizens in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, India.
to report Gizmochina, Indian states and intelligence agencies have called for action against Chinese apps in response to user reports of extortion and threats. 94 of the banned apps were available through app stores, and others were released through third-party links. The Government of India also issued an advisory to the citizens stating that betting and gambling are illegal in most parts of the country and the advertisements of platforms that offer such services are subject to the Consumer Protection Act passed in 2019, as well as the Cable Television Network Regulations 1995 and the Technology Act. 2021 information is considered illegal.
The ban on Chinese apps in India follows a crackdown on popular Chinese apps including TikTok, Xender, and PubG Mobile. These programs were previously banned due to threats to India’s sovereignty and security. The new ban has been imposed under Section 69A of India’s Information Technology Act because Chinese servers have improperly received and misused sensitive user information.
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