Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday that as many as 266 mobile apps have been blocked by the government so far since June last year.
“Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has so far blocked 266 mobile apps since June, 2020 under the provisions of section 69 A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 on national security concerns,” said Union Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy.
Though the minister has not specified the host countries of the apps, almost all blocked apps were of Chinese origin.
Kishan Reddy also said with the enhanced use of cyber space, number of cyber-crimes, including online fraud is also increasing.
Usage of the banned apps by a large number of people in India enables compilation of huge data which might be collated and analysed. This is hostile to the sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the State as well as to the public order.