Centre decides to ban 138 betting, 94 loan apps with Chinese links

In a major development, the center has decided to ban and block 138 betting apps and 94 lending apps with Chinese links on an "urgent" and "emergency" basis. Sources confirmed that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) received an order in this regard from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) this week. The sources also confirmed that MeitY has started the process of blocking these apps.

The move was taken after it was confirmed that these apps contain material that is prejudicial to India's sovereignty and integrity under Section 69 of the IT Act. These apps were found to be the brainchild of Chinese nationals who hired Indians and made them COOs.

According to the inputs, desperate individuals are lured into taking the loan and then increase the interest by up to 3,000 percent per year. When borrowers were unable to repay the interest, let alone the entire loan, individuals representing these applications began harassing the borrowers. They sent them lewd messages, threatened to release their morphed photos, and shamed them with messages to their contacts.

The issue came into limelight after a spate of suicides, particularly in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, by those who took such loans or lost money to betting apps. Several states and central intelligence agencies then asked the Union home ministry to crack down on the apps, sources said. As of June 2020, the government has banned more than 200 Chinese apps, including popular apps like TikTok, Shareit, WeChat, Helo, Likee, UC News, Bigo Live, UC Browser, ES File Explorer, and Mi Community.