PUBG Mobile banned in India along with 117 other Chinese apps

PUBG Mobile has been banned in India along with 117 other Chinese apps citing security concerns over increasing tensions with China over border dispute at Ladakh according to a statement issued by the government.

According to the IT Ministry, PUBG Mobile has been banned in India along with several other Chinese apps because these were “engaged in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order”.

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PUBG Mobile is one of the most popular smartphone games in the world and has over 50 million active players in India alone. According to the IT Ministry, “this decision is a targeted move to ensure safety, security and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace,” and meant to “safeguard the interests of crores of mobile and internet users.”

It is pertinent to mention that India banned 59 Chinese apps in June over security concerns as well. So far some of the popular apps that have been blocked include TikTok, UC Browser, WeChat and several others.

According to the Ministry, there have been several complaints regarding misuse of Chinese apps on Android and iOS for stealing and transmitting data of Indian users outside the country. In a statement the Ministry said:

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,

There has 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.

Ever since tensions between India and China escalated over the border dispute at Ladakh, the country’s Twitter has been trending with “Boycott China” and people have been sharing videos destroying products made in China which include TVs, smartphone’s and other products.

This is the latest action taken as PUBG Mobile gets banned in India along with over 100 other Chinese apps to fight back China. According to sources, India alone makes up over a quarter of the game installs.

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