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The government has instructed Google to remove a Chinese social media app from its Play Store. This step has been taken due to security concerns.
Government tightens
Highlights
- The government directed Google to remove the Chinese app ABLO.
- The wrong map of India was shown in the ABLO app.
- Meity asked to remove the app due to security concerns.
New Delhi. The Indian government has instructed Google to remove a Chinese video chat app from its Play Store, which is Ablo. Actually, the map of India is incorrectly shown in this app. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) and Survey of India (SOI) issued notices to Google, stating that the ABLO app has incorrectly depicted the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Even more worrying is that this app has completely abandoned the island of Lakshadweep in the map. This app has been downloaded more than 10,000 times on Google Play Store.
According to a report from Moneycontrol, the notice states that it is clear that the ‘Ablo’ app available on Google Play Store shows the Indian map with the wrong external limit, which endanger India’s sovereignty and integrity. The notice also states that according to the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act of 1990, it is a punishable offense to show the Indian map incorrectly. For this, there may be jail, fine, or both.
Meity directed the removal of immediate removal
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) cited Section 79 (3) (B) of the Information Technology Act, 2000, which describes online platforms the need to immediately remove the content that violates Indian laws. The Ministry also mentioned the Supreme Court’s 2015 Shreya Singhal vs. India Union’s decision, which clarified that platforms should follow legitimate government orders.
The issue was raised during a meeting between Meity and Survey of India. The government has also requested the Survey of India to consider legal action against such apps.
When the last checked, Ablo was still live on the Google Play Store, but it was already removed from Apple’s App Store. This is not the first time digital platforms have been called for such issues. In the year 2023, apps like World Map Quiz and MA 2 – President Simulator were also flagged for similar reasons.
