New Delhi: The central government in a major crackdown initiated the process to ban and block 138 betting applications and 94 loan lending apps with Chinese links on an ‘urgent’ and ‘emergency’ basis.
According to sources close to ANI, the Ministry of Electronic and Information Technology (MeitY) has taken the decision based on the recommendation of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
According to reports, the MHA recommended the MeitY this week to ban and block these apps, and the Ministry subsequently initiated the process as per communication.
The decision was taken on the basis of complaints of harassment and extortion of common people who had availed small amounts of loans through the mobile apps being run by the entities and people.
As per inputs of ANI, desperate individuals are lured into taking on a loan and then jacked up the interest by up to 3,000 per cent annually.
When the debtors were unable to repay the interest, let alone the entire loan, individuals representing these apps started harassing those in debt.
They sent them lewd messages, threatening to release their morphed photos and shaming them with messages to their contacts.
The matter came into the spotlight after a spate of suicides, particularly in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, by those who opted for such loans or lost money to betting apps.
Based on these inputs, the MHA started analysing 28 Chinese loan lending apps six months ago. However, they found that 94 apps are available on e-stores and that others are working through third-party links.
It is learnt that many apps are now not available to download on smartphones but sources say the betting apps and games are being downloaded through independent links or websites.
(With Agency Inputs)
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