After banning the popular mobile game PUBG in 2020, the Indian government now bans its “for India” version BGMI almost two years later.
Key Points:
- The Indian government bans BGMI (Battlegrounds India)ṣ on Thursday, 28 July 2022.
- The BGMI ban originated from the speculation of data sharing issues done by parent South Korean company Krafton.
- Krafton is still investigating the cause of the ban, expecting an official declaration from the Indian government.
The Indian government banned the popular South Korean mobile game Battlegrounds India (BGMI) on Thursday, 28 July 2022. This is the second time the Indian government is banning this game. Two years ago, the government banned the original version of the game – Players Unknown Battlegrounds (PUBG).
The government sent a notice to Krafton, requesting them to take down the application from the Android PlayStore and the iOS App Store. Krafton complied with the notice and soon took down the apps for the Indian subcontinent.
The government imposed Section 69A, which states that the government can block content in the region if they believe it violates security standards and concerns. The Indian government is yet to release an official statement regarding this ban.
Indian Traders Association demands Indian Government to Ban Battlegrounds Mobile India#PUBG #battlegroundmobileindia #battlegroundban https://t.co/kMzWnLFBNq
— India.com (@indiacom) June 21, 2021
“We are still looking into the matter as to why we were imposed with the takedown notice. We will let you all know as we fully grasp the situation.” said a Krafton spokesperson.
After the game got taken down, the shares of Krafton fell by 9% in a single day. This is because India is its biggest market, where PUBG was banned in September 2022 when the government found out that the Chinese developers of the game – Tencent – were accused of sharing the private and personal data of Indian players. This accusation arose when political and military tensions between both countries increased in 2020.
The previous ban encompassed over 300 Chinese applications accused of security concerns over sharing of data of Indian users.
More Resources:
Sofia
