Government of India block access to Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), a popular battle-royale format game from South Korean game development firm Krafton, as it was concern about its data sharing and mining in China, an Indian government as per source.
The block comes nearly two years after PUBG Mobile was ban in India.
Section 69A of India’s IT Act allows the government to block public access to content in the interest of national security, among many other reasons.
Orders issue under the section are generally confidential in nature.
New Delhi use powers it has under India’s IT law to block Battlegrounds Mobile India, a game from South Korean company Krafton, which is back by China’s Tencent, relying on a provision it has invoke since 2020 to ban many other Chinese apps on national security concerns, the government official and another source with direct knowledge said.
Section 69A of the IT Act allows the government to block public access to content in the interest of national security, among many other reasons.
Orders issue under the section are generally confidential in nature.
The Indian government has not publicly announce the blocking.
But the app was remove from Alphabet’s Google Play store and Apple’s App Store as of Thursday evening in India.
Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) and non-profit Prahar had repeatedly ask the government to investigate “China influence” of BGMI, Prahar president Abhay Mishra said.
SJM is the economic wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
Abhay Mishra said :
“In the so-called new avatar, the BGMI was no different from erstwhile PUBG with Tencent still controlling it in the background,”.
The ban elicite strong online reactions from popular gamers in India on Twitter and YouTube.
Krafton Said :
“We are clarifying how BGMI was removed from Google Play store and the App store and will let you know once we get specific informationm,”.
A Google spokesperson has confirm that the Battlegrounds Mobile India removal was a result of a government order.
As per Google spokesperson :
“On receipt of the order, following established process, we have notified the affected developer and have blocked access to the app that remained available on the Play Store in India,”.
Details of the order are awaited.
Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) Disappears from Google Play, Apple App Store Following Government Order
Battlegrounds Mobile India, better known as BGMI, has disappeare from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store following a government order.
Those who already have it install on their devices can still play the game, at least for now.
The removal happen without warning, leaving many users surprise.
Google has now confirm that it receive a government order directing it to delist the popular online game.
BGMI was launch in India by Krafton as a response to the government banning multiple Chinese apps including the then-popular Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) due to security risks.
A similar game, Garena Free Fire, was also banned in February 2022.
#BGMI and #BGMIban start trending on Twitter, rumours and speculation about possible reasons for a ban include connections to recent allegations of video games being connect to violent incidents, and new concerns about data privacy and online security.
New State Mobile, which is publish as a separate app by Krafton, remains available.
Really comes as a shocker because the Growth of Esports in India has been tremendous.
— MortaL (@Mortal04907880) July 28, 2022
All will come down to a stop if something happens to BGMI(Top esports game in India)
Trust will be broken.
People who HOPED, will remain hopeless.
I hope you look into the matter @GoI_MeitY
Developer Krafton claims to have invest over $100 million to develop BGMI and an esports ecosystem in India over the past few years.
The company also recently announce that BGMI has surpassed 100 million registered users.
At that time, Krafton CEO Changhan Kim had said
“India is an important market for Krafton. We are positive about the opportunities in the country and are committed to create a robust gaming ecosystem. Our focus is pivoted towards constantly elevating the mobile gaming experience for our growing community and invest in the flourishing start-up landscape here”
