The developers of PUBG have revealed that it has crossed over 40
million daily active users. However, the popular battle royale game was slapped
with a ban in several countries like Jordan, Nepal, Israel, Iraq including
China in spite of Tencent (Chinese internet major) holding a 10% stake at
PUBG’s parent company Bluehole!
While the game’s user base has been appreciative of the game, the
same cannot be said about parents and authorities who have on multiple
occasions spoken against the game, going so far as to advocate a ban on the
game.
India has drawn up a list of 275 Chinese apps that it will
examine for any violation of national security and user privacy, signalling
heightened scrutiny and the possibility of more Chinese internet companies
being banned in the country, according to people aware of the developments.
However, official sources said reviews aimed at identifying more Chinese apps
and their funding is underway. “Some of these apps have been red-flagged due to
security reasons while others have been listed for violation of data sharing
and privacy concerns,” an official explained.
The government banned 47 more Chinese apps that were clones of
the earlier banned apps. Some of these include TikTok Lite, Helo Lite, ShareIt
Lite, Bigo Lite and VFY Lite, all of which are reportedly unavailable on the
Google Play Store and Apple App Store. While PUBG is not a part of the list, it
is said to be under the scanner. The government is considering a ban on the
battle royale format game over data security concerns. Several apps have been
on the radar lately owing to alleged data-sharing practices with the
Chinese government. In fact PUBG was banned in Pakistan as well, until it was
lifted on July 26, 2020!
PUBG has been subject to heavy criticism several times in the past
but for a different reason. After receiving several complaints from parents and
guardians, some state governments across the nation put a temporary ban on the
gaming app for its addictive nature that had a psychological impact on players,
especially youngsters.
Anything that puts the national security in danger should be dealt
with strong hands. The whole nation should definitely be united on this!
