India to ban Chinese-linked betting and lending app amid security fears
- The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology will block 138 betting apps and 94 loan lending apps with Chinese links
- Since the start of political tension with China in 2020 following a border clash, India has banned popular Chinese apps in the country
India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has begun a process to ban and block 138 betting apps and 94 loan lending apps with Chinese links, India’s ANI reported on Sunday, citing sources.
The Ministry of Home Affairs recommended the MeitY ban and block these apps by the coming week under Section 69 of India’s IT law, the report said.
The IT law allows the government to block public access to content in the interest of national security, among other reasons. Orders issued under the section are generally confidential in nature.
MeitY and the Ministry of Home Affairs did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Since the start of political tension with China in 2020 following a border clash, India has banned popular Chinese apps in the country. Last year India blocked access to several mobile apps citing security concerns which was followed by China expressing concerns over bilateral economic and trade cooperation.
How India’s Chinese app ban helped its own tech sector flourish
Most Indian users of banned Chinese apps were able to migrate to other platforms quite easily, but it has not all been smooth sailing – especially for the TikTok content-creators who lost their millions of followers and associated sponsorship income virtually overnight.
Some 65 per cent of India’s 1.4 billion population is aged below 35, and 825 million people in the country are connected to the internet – a number that is expected to climb by another 300 million by 2025. China, by comparison, already has 1.03 billion internet users, according to the state news agency.
Additional reporting by Ben Jiang, Penny MacRae
