According to the NGO, there is a threat to national security and public order.
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A non-governmental organisation has urged the government to ban the Chinese gaming app Battlegrounds Mobile India. The Government of India banned PUBG mobile on September 2, 2020. It was relaunched as Battlegrounds Mobile India after ten months (BGMI). BGMI is the most popular of the Chinese apps that have been relaunched and rebranded with the same features. BGMI Ban: After PUBG Ban, NGO Asks Government to ban Battlegrounds Mobile India
Under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act of 2000, a non-profit organisation has petitioned the government to block the Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) app.
According to the NGO, there is a threat to national security and public order.
Prahar, an NGO, has written to the Ministries of Home Affairs (MHA) and Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) about this.
BGMI is an Indian version of South Korean game developer studio Krafton’s popular battle royale game, PlayersUnknown Battlegrounds (PUBG), which was banned in 2020 as part of a broader restriction on Chinese apps.
Also Read: 43304 accounts banned for cheating in Battlegrounds Mobile India
Prahar stated in the letter that Chinese internet giant Tencent owns a 15% stake in Krafton, so the ban should be comparable to a recent ban on another popular game, Free Fire, in which Tencent owns an 18% stake.
“In the so-called new avatar, the BGMI-PUBG is no different from erstwhile PUBG with Tencent still controlling it in the background,” said Abhay Mishra, president, Prahar.
“We, therefore, request your ministry to include Chinese app BGMI-PUBG among the list of banned apps in India under Section 69A of the IT Act in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of the state, and public order and save millions of unsuspecting players from falling prey into the Chinese trap.”
“Free Fire was another gaming app that was banned on 14 February. Since Tencent also holds an 18.7% share in Free Fire, it raises a basic question: If Free Fire was banned, why was BGMI-PUBG exempted?”
Why was PUBG Mobile banned in India? Under what grounds was it banned? Here are some of the major points as to why it was banned.
The main reason was the sovereignty and integrity of India. In June and September, when 59 and 118 Chinese apps including PUBG Mobile India were banned, the Government of India stated in the order that the apps were “prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, the security of the state and public order”. The ban was done under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act of 2000.
PUBG Mobile had written to the Government of India but apparently, they were not satisfied with the response.
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