New Delhi: The Ministry of Information and Technology has banned PUBG Mobile, a popular game in India, and 118 other mobile applications, amid tensions with China.
This is third set of ban that has hit the app industry after the government made similar moves in the past. As per the government, the move was in the interest of India's sovereignty and integrity, defence and security.
The widely popular videogame PUBG Mobile ranks among the world's top five smartphone games, having close to 50 million active players in India. The PUBG India series for 2020 had a total prize pool of above ₹ 55 lakh and with the player base and international investment, it was projected to grow.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology says that the mobile game has been banned along with the other Apps under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, on grounds that "they are engaged in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order".
In 2019, in a measure of PUBG's huge popularity, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during an event on exam stress, had remarked to a mother complaining about her teen: "Yeh PUBG-wala hai kya (Is he a PUBG player?)".
In June, the government banned 59 mobile apps including Bytedance's TikTok, Alibaba's UC Browser and Tencent's WeChat, also citing security concerns.
"This decision is a targeted move to ensure safety, security and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace," the statement said, adding that the move would safeguard the interests of crores of Indian mobile and internet users.
The ministry added that it had received many complaints about the misuse of some mobile apps on Android and iOS platforms for stealing and surreptitiously transmitting user data to servers outside India.
"The compilation of these data, its mining and profiling by elements hostile to national security and defence of India, which ultimately impinges upon the sovereignty and integrity of India, is a matter of very deep and immediate concern which requires emergency measures," said the statement.
The statement referred to bipartisan concerns flagged by various public representatives in parliament and outside. It said there had been a strong chorus in the public space to take strict action against Apps "that harm India's sovereignty as well as the privacy of our citizens".
The other Apps blocked today include games, online payment services, dating sites and even software to edit selfies.
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