Sources told News 18 that "these apps, often displaying predatory behaviour to trap individuals in massive debt, can also be misused as tools for espionage and propaganda, besides posing a security risk to the data of the Indian citizens."
The government has started the process to ban 138 betting apps and 94 loan lending apps with Chinese links on "urgent" and "emergency" basis, News18 reported on Sunday. Sources said the action was initiated on the recommendation of the Ministry of Home Affairs on 'emergency blocking' of these apps.
According to an official communication between the two ministries — Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) and Ministry of Home Affairs — the action was initiated after confirming that these apps attract Section 69 of the IT Act as they contain "material which is prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India", the News 18 reported.
Why the government is banning these apps?
This comes as a major crackdown on loan-lending apps. The matter refers to the extortion and harassment of the public who had availed small amount of loans through the mobile apps being run by those entities/persons.
Almost all of these apps were reportedly the brainchild of Chinese nationals who hired Indians and made them directors in the operation. "After luring desperate individuals into taking on a loan, they jacked up the interest by up to 3,000 percent annually," the report said.
When the debtors were unable to repay the interest, let alone the entire loan, individuals representing these apps started harassing those in debt. They sent them lewd messages, threatening to release their morphed photos and shaming them with messages to their contacts.
The matter came into the spotlight after a spate of suicides, particularly in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, by those who opted for such loans or lost money to betting apps.
"These apps, often displaying predatory behaviour to trap individuals in massive debt, can also be misused as tools for espionage and propaganda, besides posing a security risk to the data of the Indian citizens," sources told News 18.
States like Telangana, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh as well as central intelligence agencies had then asked the Union home ministry to take action against these apps, sources said.
Following this, the home ministry started analysing 28 Chinese loan lending apps six months ago. However, they found that 94 apps are available on e-stores and that others are working through third-party links.
The report further notes that many apps are now not available to download on smartphones but sources say the betting apps and games are being downloaded through independent links or websites. "They are even being directly played online or on social media platforms. Some of these also accept cryptocurrencies as payment," it said.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) issued an advisory, stating that since betting and gambling is illegal in most parts of the country, advertisements of these betting platforms as well as their surrogates are also illegal under the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act 2019, Cable TV Network Regulation Act 1995 and the IT Rules, 2021.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting also advised online advertisement intermediaries to not target such ads at the Indian audience.
First Published: Feb 5, 2023 10:54 AM IST
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