MEA on centre banning 118 chines apps: Internet companies have a duty to abide by the rules issued by the govt

The central government on Wednesday blocked PUBJ Mobile and PUBJ Mobile Lite along with 116 other Chinese apps for Android and iOS devices.

The central government on Wednesday blocked PUBJ Mobile and  PUBJ Mobile Lite along with 116 other Chinese apps for Android and iOS devices. The development came while India and China are engaged in a standoff at Pangong lake in Ladakh. In a statement on Tuesday, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) said that these banned applications are “prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order”.

Fans of PUBG Mobile in India were dreading a ban since July following reports that it has been put on a list of 250 Chinese apps rounded up by the government for scrutiny on the basis of privacy and data security. Later in August, to allay fears, PUBG Mobile revamped its privacy policy for Indian users and assured that it stores their data locally. These attempts ultimately didn’t amount to much.

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“India has one of the most open regimes for foreign direct investment in the world, This includes internet companies and digital technology companies. However, they have a responsibility to abide by rules and regulations issued by government of India,” MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said on Thursday.

Yesterday’s move has upset Beijing, with Gao Feng, the spokesperson of Chinese Commerce Ministry saying that India has abused national security by imposing “discriminate restrictions” on Chinese companies.

“We hope that the Indian side will work with the Chinese side to maintain hard-won bilateral cooperation and development so as to build an open and fair business environment for international investors and services providers including Chinese companies,” he was quoted by the Global Times as saying.