Digital Strike: India bans over 200 Chinese-based betting and lending apps!

The Indian government has banned 232 Chinese apps, including some for betting and lending. The ban was made by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) following recommendations from the Union home ministry. The list of banned apps has not been made public.

The government has banned 138 betting and gambling apps and 94 loan apps because they were found to be involved in money laundering and were a threat to the country’s financial security. The government used power under the Information Technology (IT) Act to remove these apps, which were being run from offshore locations including China.

The government has banned 59 mobile apps because they were found to have harmful content that affects India’s safety and unity. This was done after many reports of people being blackmailed and mistreated by people who gave them loans through these apps. The apps were made by Chinese developers who hired Indians to run them. People who borrow from these apps often end up with very high-interest rates, sometimes as much as 3,000% per year.

People who promote these loan apps have been bullying borrowers who can’t pay back the money. They threaten to send nasty messages to their friends and family or even post fake photos of them online. This has been happening in places like Telangana and Odisha.

Due to financial obligations to lending or gambling applications, people in India have been taking their own lives. The main government is currently being urged to take action against these risky apps by the governments of various states and intelligence organizations.

Borrowers who are unable to pay their interest are being threatened and harassed by lenders utilizing specific apps by sending rude texts and embarrassing photographs to their acquaintances. In some states, this has developed into an issue.

People in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana took their own lives after getting into debt from using loans or betting apps. The issue became widely known and the Union Home Ministry was asked to step in and take action against these apps by multiple states and intelligence agencies.

94 of the 28 Chinese loan applications that the authorities examined six months prior were online. Some also contained links to additional sources.

Some mobile apps are no longer functioning. However, you may still download betting applications and games by going directly to their website.

Advertising websites that offer gambling and betting is forbidden, according to the Indian government. The Consumer Protection Act of 2019, the Cable TV Network Regulation Act of 1995, and the IT Rules of 2021, among others, are cited by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting as supporting this.

Last year, India banned 54 Chinese apps because they posed a security risk. Tencent Xriver, Onmyoji Chess, Equalizer & Bass Booster, and Dual Space Lite were among the apps included.

54 apps have been banned by the Indian government for allegedly gathering user data and transferring it abroad. It was discovered that the apps were unlawfully behaving and had gotten sensitive information. These applications, according to the authorities, endanger users’ security and privacy.

After banning 59 apps in June 2020, the authorities banned 47 similar apps on August 10, 2020. Later, 118 more apps were barred on September 1, 2020, and 43 other apps were limited on November 19, 2020.

In India, during the first half of 2020, many of the most popular free apps were made by big Chinese tech companies. This includes TikTok and Helo by ByteDance, PUBG by Tencent, UC Browser, and VMate by Alibaba. These apps are not currently available to download due to the ban.