PUBG Banned With 117 Other Chinese Apps - Technohubnet

PUBG Mobile Banned in India With 117 Other Chinese Apps | TechnoHubNet

PUBG Banned With 117 Other Chinese Apps

The Indian government on Wednesday banned 118 apps on national security concerns, including the immensely popular Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) Mobile, Baidu and couple of virtual private networks (VPNs) that allowed access to TikTok that was earlier banned.

The action came after the fresh Chinese incursion attempts in Indian Territory at Pangong Tso in eastern Ladakh.

"This move will safeguard the interests of crores of Indian mobile and internet users. This decision is a targeted move to ensure safety, security and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace," the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) said in a statement.

The PUBG game, which has more than 600 million downloads and 50 million active players globally, has millions of users, especially young, in India.
PUBG Mobile saw a global revenue gain of $1.3 billion (roughly Rs 9,731 crore) in the first half of this year, bringing its lifetime collection to $3 billion (nearly Rs 22,457 crore) with the highest number of downloads in India which ranks at the top with 175 million installs as people stayed home owing to the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns.

PUBG was not banned in India earlier as it is not entirely Chinese. The game has been created and managed by BlueHole which is a South Korean organization.

After PUBG became popular, Tencent (Chinese conglomerate) joined hands with BlueHole to market the product in China and started handling a large portion of its distribution. Tencent Holdings distribute the game in India.

The ban on PUBG came as it announced the arrival of a new gaming era with its 1.0 version, along with global mobile esports tournament PUBG Mobile Global Championship (PMGC) with a grand prize pool of $2 million (about Rs 15 crore).

The ministry said that it has decided to block 118 mobile apps in view of information available that "they are engaged in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order".

The ministry received many complaints from various sources including several reports about misuse of some mobile apps available on Android and iOS platforms for stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users' data in an unauthorized manner to servers, which have locations outside India.

In July, the government barred 47 Chinese apps from operating in the country, which were largely clones of the previously 59 apps banned in June.

On June 29, the government banned 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, WeChat and UC Browser and Xiaomi's Mi Community over national security concerns amid the border tussle in Ladakh, which led to the death of 20 Indian soldiers in the Galwan Valley clash with Chinese PLA troops.

Here is a part of the press release:

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India invoking it’s power under section 69A of the Information Technology Act read with the relevant provisions of the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking of Access of Information by Public) Rules 2009 and in view of the emergent nature of threats has decided to block 118 mobile apps (see Appendix) since in view of information available they are engaged in activities which is prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has received many complaints from various sources including several reports about misuse of some mobile apps available on Android and iOS platforms for stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users’ data in an unauthorized manner to servers, which have locations outside India. The compilation of these data, it is 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.

The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, Ministry of Home Affairs has also sent an exhaustive recommendation for blocking these malicious apps... Likewise, there have been similar bipartisan concerns, flagged by various public representatives, both outside and inside the Parliament of India. 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.

On the basis of these and upon receiving of recent credible inputs that information posted, permissions sought, functionality embedded as well as data harvesting practices of above stated Apps raise serious concerns that these Apps collect and share data in surreptitious manner and compromise personal data and information of users that can have a severe threat to security of the State.

In the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India and security of the State. And using the sovereign powers, the Government of India has decided to block the usage of certain Apps, used in both mobile and non-mobile Internet enabled devices.

This move will safeguard the interests of crores of Indian mobile and internet users. This decision is a targeted move to ensure safety, security and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace.

PUBG Mobile's response

The players of PUBG Mobile are disappointed and continuously demanding the officials to unban the game. After continuous spam in PUBG Mobile's official discord server, The administrator of PUBG Mobile's official discord, Bellatrix, has now announced that the PUBG Mobile team is already looking for the solutions to unban the game in India. Here is the complete statement:-

Ik it is sad. But trust me, the PUBGM team is not sitting here and watching their game getting banned. They will do their best to find solutions. Meanwhile they want you to have patience.

Image Credits: PUBG Mobile Discord Server

The decision to ban these games was taken by the Ministry of Electronics, Information and Technology (MEITY), where they announced the following:

The compilation of these data, it is mining and profiling by elements hostile to national security and defense of India, which ultimately impinges upon the sovereignty and integrity of India, is a matter of very deep and immediate concern that requires emergency measures.

They further added:

On the basis of these and upon receiving of recent credible inputs that such Apps pose threat to sovereignty and integrity of India, the Government of India has decided to disallow the usage of certain Apps, used in both mobile and non-mobile Internet-enabled devices. This move will safeguard the interests of crores of Indian mobile and internet users. This decision is a targeted move to ensure the safety and sovereignty of Indian cyberspace.

List of 118 Chinese apps banned:-

PUBG Mobile and its Lite version are mentioned at number 32 and 33, respectively.

1. APUS Launcher Pro - Theme, Live Wallpapers, Smart
2. APUS Launcher - Theme, Call Show, Wallpaper, HideApps
3. APUS Security - Antivirus, Phone security, Cleaner
4. APUS Turbo Cleaner 2020 - Junk Cleaner, Anti-Virus
5. APUS Flashlight - Free & Bright
6. Cut Cut - Cut Out & Photo Background Editor
7. Baidu
8. Baidu Express Edition
9. FaceU - Inspire your Beauty
10. ShareSave by Xiaomi - Latest gadgets, amazing deals
11. CamCard - Business Card Reader
12. CamCard Business
13. CamCard for Salesforce
14. CamOCR
15. InNote
16. VooV Meeting - Tencent Video Conferencing
17. Super Clean - Master of Cleaner, Phone Booster
18. WeChat reading
19. Government WeChat
20. Small Q brush
21. Tencent Weiyun
22. Pitu
23. WeChat Work
24. Cyber Hunter
25. Cyber Hunter Lite
26. Knives Out - No rules, just fight!
27. Super Mecha Champions
28. LifeAfter
29. Dawn of Isles
30. Ludo World - Ludo Superstar
31. Chess Rush
32. PUBG MOBILE Nordic Map: Livik
33. PUBG MOBILE LITE
34. Rise of Kingdoms: Lost Crusade
35. Art of Conquest: Dark Horizon
36. Dank Tanks
37. Warpath
38. Game of Sultans
39. Gallery Vault - Hide Pictures And Videos
40. Smart AppLock (App Protect)
41. Message Lock (SMS Lock) - Gallery Vault Developer Team
42. Hide App - Hide Application Icon
43. AppLock
44. AppLock Lite
45. Dual Space - Multiple Accounts & App Cloner
46. ZAKZAK Pro - Live chat & video chat online
47. ZAKZAK LIVE: Live-streaming & video chat app
48. Music - Mp3 Player
49. Music Player - Audio Player & 10 Bands Equalizer
50. HD Camera Selfie Beauty Camera
51. Cleaner - Phone Booster
52. Web Browser & Fast Explorer
53. Video Player All Format for Android
54. Photo Gallery HD & Editor
55. Photo Gallery & Album
56. Music Player - Bass Booster - Free Download
57. HD Camera - Beauty Cam with Filters & Panorama
58. HD Camera Pro & Selfie Camera
59. Music Player - MP3 Player & 10 Bands Equalizer
60. Gallery HD
61. Web Browser - Fast, Privacy & Light Web Explorer
62. Web Browser - Secure Explorer
63. Music player - Audio Player
64. Video Player - All Format HD Video Player
65. Lamour Love All Over The World
66. Amour - Video chat & call all over the world.
67. MV Master - Make Your Status Video & Community
68. MV Master - Best Video Maker & Photo Video Editor
69. APUS Message Center - Intelligent management
70. LivU Meet new people & Video chat with strangers
71. Carrom Friends - Carrom Board & Pool Game-
72. Ludo All Star - Play Online Ludo Game & Board Games
73. Bike Racing - Moto Traffic Rider Bike Racing Games
74. Rangers Of Oblivion - Online Action MMO RPG Game
75. Z Camera - Photo Editor, Beauty Selfie, Collage
76. GO SMS Pro - Messenger, Free Themes, Emoji
77. U-Dictionary - Oxford Dictionary Free Now Translate
78. Ulike - Define your selfie in trendy style
79. Tantan - Date For Real
80. MICO Chat - New Friends Banaen aur Live Chat karen
81. Kitty Live - Live Streaming & Video Live Chat
82. Malay Social Dating App to Date & Meet Singles
83. Alipay
84. AlipayHK
85. Mobile Taobao
86. Youku
87. Road of Kings - Endless Glory
88. Sina News
89. Netease News
90. Penguin FM
91. Murderous Pursuits
92. Tencent Watchlist (Tencent Technology)
93. Learn Chinese AI - Super Chinese
94. HUYA LIVE - Game Live Stream
95. Little Q Album
96. Fighting Landlords - Free and happy Fighting Landlords
97. Hi Meitu
98. Mobile Legends: Pocket
99. VPN for TikTok
100. VPN for TikTok
101. Penguin E-sports Live assistant
102. Buy Cars-offer everything you need, special offers and low prices
103. I Pick
104. Beauty Camera Plus - Sweet Camera & Face Selfie
105. Parallel Space Lite - Dual App
106. " Chief Almighty: First Thunder BC
107. MARVEL Super War NetEase Games
108. AFK Arena
109. Creative Destruction NetEase Games
110. Crusaders of Light NetEase Games
111. Mafia City Yotta Games
112. Onmyoji NetEase Games
113. Ride Out Heroes NetEase Games
114. Yimeng Jianghu-Chu Liuxiang has been fully upgraded
115. Legend: Rising Empire NetEase Games
116. Arena of Valor: 5v5 Arena Games
117. Soul Hunters
118. Rules of Survival

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