According to the NDTV report, the central government has banned 14 Messenger apps, including Crypviser, Enigma, Safeswiss, Wickrme, Mediafire, BRARAR, BCHAT, Nandbox, Conion, IMO, Imo, Component, 2D Series, Zangi, and ThreeMa. These apps were allegedly being used by terrorist groups in Jammu and Kashmir to interact and obtain instructions from Pakistan.
The report states that action has been taken on SIFA Rish of security and intelligence agencies. A list of apps that pose a threat to national security and do not follow Indian laws was prepared and the concerned ministry was requested to ban them, after which they have finally been banned. According to the report, an official has informed that these apps have been blocked under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Reporting the report ANI suggests that in official communication to high officials, intelligence agencies informed that these 14 apps are spreading terrorist campaigns in the valley.
An authority to the news agency said, “Agencies keep an eye on the channels used to communicate by overground workers (OGWs) and terrorists. While tracking a communication, agencies found that mobile application has no representative in India and it is difficult to track activities on apps.”
Separate from this, in February, in a major campaign against loan and lending apps, the central government had ordered to ban 138 betting and 94 lending apps related to China. This action was taken by the Electronics and Information Technology Ministry. These apps were accused of keeping personal data from the citizens of the country. Many complaints of illegal recovery and harassment of people were also received against them.
