Lok Sabha Question No. 727 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-02-07
Subject: Ban on Foreign Mobile Applications
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Rajendra Agrawal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 727

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 07.02.2024

## BAN ON FOREIGN MOBILE APPLICATIONS

## 727. SHRI RAJENDRA AGRAWAL:

Will the Minister of ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  many  of  the  foreign  mobile  applications  pose  the  national  security  as  well  as  the privacy threat to the citizens of India;
- (b) if so, the details thereof  and the action taken by the Government in this regard;
- (c) the  total  number  of  foreign  mobile  applications  banned  in  the  country  during  the  last  three years; year-wise and
- (d) the types of privacy threat posed by these foreign mobile applications to Indian citizens?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAJEEV CHANDRASEKHAR)

(a): The policies of the Government are aimed at ensuring that the Internet in India is Open, Safe & Trusted and Accountable to all our Digital Nagriks. The Internet technology and Internet used to  be  seen  as  force  for  good,  but  in  recent  years,  technology  is  also  exploited  for  causing  user harms and criminality.  The  number  of  Internet  users  in  India  are  expected  to  increase  from  85 crores  today  to  120  crore  users  by  2026  making  India  the  largest  connected  democracy  on  the global Internet. The Government is fully committed to exploit the good of the technologies but is cognizant  of  the  harms,  risks  and  the  growing  rate  of  criminalities  that  include  spreading  of prohibited information in the nature of misinformation, patently false information and deepfakes. The Government intends to ensure the Internet in general and information on it is safe & trusted and takes suitable steps on an on-going basis to tackle the bad actors.

(b) and (c): Yes. Government policies are aimed at curbing the illegal foreign mobile applications which pose a threat to the national security as well as to privacy of the citizens of India. Ministry of  Home  Affairs  has  identified  certain  mobile  applications  being  operated  in  India  and  sent  to Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) requesting for blocking those under section  69A  of  Information  Technology  (IT)  Act,  2000  which  enables  Government  to  issue directions  for  blocking  for  access  of  information  if  it  is  necessary  or  expedient  to  do  so  in  the interest of sovereignty and integrity, defence of India, security of the State, friendly relations with foreign  States  or  public  order  or  for  inciting  cognizable  offence  relating  to  above.  MeitY  after following the due process as provided in the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking for Access of Information for Public) Rules, 2009 has issued directions for blocking 27, 67 and 233 applications in the year 2021, 2022 and 2023 respectively.

(d): As per agencies reports, apart from indulging in various fraudulent activities such as illegal financial activities, transferring money through hawala to outside countries, applications are also used for stealing and transmitting user data and real-time activity, surreptitiously to servers located outside India. Usage of these Apps by a large number of people in India enables compilation of huge data that can be collated, analyzed, profiled and mined by elements who are hostile to the sovereignty  and  integrity  of  India  and  for  activities  detrimental  to  national  security,  defense  of India. Also, the activities carried out by most of these applications have the potential to disturb the public order.

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