The ban on PUBG Mobile and 117 other Chinese apps from the Indian market has been raging on the Internet for the last 12 hours since it was announced. All of PUBG Mobile versions and variations got expelled from the country. Those include the PUBG Mobile Nordic Map: Livik and PUBG Mobile Lite. It seems like the end of the title’s reign in India.
According to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, PUBG Mobile Lite’s ban was based on Section 69A. The official Press Release held earlier stated that the 118 mobile applications were "Prejudicial to Soveireinity and Integrity of India, Defence of India, Security of State and Public Order". Popular messaging apps like WeChat Work & WeChat reading also suffered from the same fate.
All of the 118 banned apps are either based in or linked to China. Some of the biggest names on the list are PUBG Mobile, PUBG Mobile Lite, Alipay, and Baidu. Previously, TikTok, WeChat, and over 50 Chinese apps were also prohibited in June, suggesting they were a possible security issue.
India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology stated that it had received various complaints about apps “stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users’ data in an unauthorized manner to servers which have locations outside India.” The announcement doesn’t mention China specifically though. It broadly considers the action as a measure to “safeguard the interests of crores of Indian mobile and internet users.” On the other hand, news reports put the ban down to the escalating tensions between India and China over an ongoing border dispute.
India has now officially blocked some of the globally popular apps from the country, locking them out of a thriving market of mobile phone users. PUBG Mobile, a game made by the world’s tech giant Tencent, is said to be one of India’s biggest games. India was also one of the biggest markets for TikTok - which has been banned since June. The new ban list also includes two apps that supposedly offer VPN service to use TikTok specifically.