The Indian government on Wednesday blocked 118 more mobile applications, including popular gaming app PUBG, terming them prejudicial to the sovereignty, integrity, and defense of the nation.
The banned apps include Baidu, Baidu Express Edition, Tencent Watchlist, FaceU, WeChat Reading, and Tencent Weiyun, besides PUBG Mobile and PUBG Mobile Lite, according to an official statement.
All these banned apps have Chinese links, sources said.
The Centre had earlier banned a number of Chinese apps, including TikTok and UC Browser.
“Government blocks 118 mobile apps which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defense of India, the security of the state and public order,” it said.
It said the IT Ministry had received 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 to servers outside India.
“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,” the statement said.
