Centre initiates process to ban over 230 Chinese apps: Report
What's the story
The central government has decided to ban over 230 mobile applications with Chinese links that allegedly pose a security threat to the country, News18 reported. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) communicated with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) about prohibiting 138 betting and 94 loan lending apps on an "urgent" basis. Subsequently, the MeitY launched the process of blocking these apps.
Context
Why does this story matter?
The Indian government has reportedly banned more than 300 Chinese apps since border tensions with China escalated in 2020. The first round of bans was announced in June 2020, followed by similar bans later that year. Relations between India and China remain frosty since deadly clashes in the Galwan Valley region in 2020, followed by the Tawang Sector conflict in Arunachal Pradesh in 2022.
Details
Chinese loan mobile apps pose espionage risk: MHA
News18 reported the MHA, six months back, started examining 288 Chinese apps that provide loans, and during this, 94 such apps were found available on Google Play Store and App Store, too. Some of these apps were reportedly operating in India via third-party links. It claimed the loan apps could also be used for espionage and propaganda, besides putting Indians' personal information at risk.
Action
Action initiated under Section 69 of the IT Act
Following the interministerial talks, it was found these loan-lending and betting applications posed a threat to India's sovereignty and integrity, and action can be taken under Section 69 of the IT Act. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) said they violate the Consumer Protection Act 2019 and the Cable TV Network Regulation Act 1995, as betting and gambling are illegal in most states.
States
Decision taken on recommendations from states, intelligence agencies
Several intelligence agencies and states, including Telangana, Odisha, and Uttar Pradesh, also recommended that the MHA take action against such applications. They claimed that Chinese nationals created these applications and then they delegated control of them to Indian citizens. Once the users are captured in the loan trap by these loan-lending applications, the rate of interest is multiplied several times, leading to debtors' harassment.
Exploitation
Apps trap users, leading to several offenses
After taking a loan from these apps, if a user is unable to repay it, their representatives start exploiting them. This ranges from abusive messages to users to threatening to spread their fake/morphed pornographic images. Their conspiracy came to light when many people, who took loans from such apps or lost money in betting, died by suicide in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana last year.
Tension
Sino-Indian border tensions
The Centre had earlier banned over 300 apps of Chinese origin, including popular apps like PUBG, WeChat, and TikTok. The action followed tensions in Indo-China relations after the clashes in Galwan Valley in 2020. The two countries have held several inter-military talks since then to defuse the tensions. However, triggering incidents continue to be reported along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).