Garena Free Fire and 53 Other Chinese Apps Banned in India

It is not today that India and China are going through a difficult time in the relationship between neighbors. An example of this is that the central government announces the banning of 54 more apps of Chinese origin, including the Garena Free Fire. The move of banning Chinese apps by Indian authorities began in 2020 and the crisis escalated with the blockade of TikTok.

The other titles, including Sweet Selfie HD, Beauty Camera, Viva Video Editor, AppLock, and Dual Space Lite, are basically copies of previously banned apps.

Commenting on the matter, the Ministry of Electronics and IT of India (MeitY) cited the 2000 law as a justification for the ban, being even more precise, Article 69A.

The law empowers the ministry to ban and block any foreign software that threatens India’s sovereignty and integrity. The text is somewhat controversial and, as in 2020, the ministry’s justifications are basically generic.

Google has already received notification from the Indian government and has started pulling apps from the Play Store. The same guidance was sent to Apple.

Upon receiving the provisional order governed under Article 69A of the IT Act, following the established process, we notified the affected developers and temporarily blocked access to the apps that remained available on the Play Store in India – said Google.

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