The government has blocked 232 apps operated by overseas entities, including Chinese for being involved in betting, gambling and unauthorised loan service, according to an official source.
Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) has issued orders to block these apps following instructions from Ministry of Home Affairs.
The government has issued orders to block 138 betting and gambling apps and 94 quick loan-providing apps on an “urgent” and “emergency” basis for “improper data storage and transfer” to other countries as well as money laundering.
The ban was taken under Section 69A of the IT Act as the apps contained material that was seen as prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of the country.
There had been several complaints against the apps, many of whom were alleged to be extorting money from people and harassing them after extending loans to them. The sources said that there were many suicides in states such as Andhra Pradesh and Telangana due to such harassment. Many of the apps were not available on the app stores, though they could be downloaded through individual links or websites.
In the last two years, the government has banned about 400 apps related to gaming, video editing, video conferencing, music and entertainment, among others.
In June 2020, it had first banned 59 mobile apps, including TikTok, Shareit, UC Browser, Helo, Xender, which according to the government were prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of the country. In September 2020, it had banned popular gaming app PUBG and 117 others linked to China.
