The Union Ministry of Information and Technology, India put a ban on the popular gaming application PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) on September 2, 2020.
India has banned the PUBG Mobile because of its Chinese connection and because India and China are currently in middle of a major border dispute. While China is trying to encroach upon Indian territory in Ladakh, India is hitting back by banning usage of Chinese apps in the country.
The ministry banned a total of 118 mobile applications amid the prolonged standoff with China at the Line of Control. The other applications banned by the centre include CamOCR, WeChat, AppLock, and Music player - Audio Player. Earlier, India had banned 59 apps with Chinese links for engaging in activities that are "prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity" of the country.
According to the official press release, the move came after the government took note of the numerous complaints from various sources regarding the misuse of some apps for stealing and transferring users' data in an unauthorized manner to servers situated outside India.
It should be mentioned that PUBG is one of the most popular smartphone mobile games in India and many other countries. In India alone, the app boasts of over 175 million downloads.
G Plus conducted a poll on its social media channels to ask people's opinion on the matter and determine whether they support the government's decision to ban PUBG Mobile or not. Over 10,000 people participated in the poll which resulted in only 38.7% of people saying that they do not support the decision. A whopping 61.3% of the poll participants said that they support the decision of banning PUBG. Netizens actively commented on G Plus’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages after casting their votes in the poll conducted on September 2.
Majority of the participants appreciated the government for the move stating that it would mean lesser screen time and violent content for children.
"It is a great step.. Saved the youths of this country.. The demand in Chinese smartphones originated from this game which will go down now.. There were even 13-14 year old boys demanding money for buying accessories in this virtual game. Plus the Chinese government involved in sneaking private data.. I will say a 100 points move after all,” Digvijoy Mandal commented on Facebook.
Similarly, Ritu Sunny Chakraborty said, "Yes i really support.. i think it will help to spend time with their loved ones rather than just sitting and getting immersed in their game.."
Even regular PUBG players supported the ban stating that the nation's security is first and foremost.
“I play pubg too but i have no problem with this ban at all. Youths should focus on other things in life more,” Dave Gogoi commented on G Plus’ Facebook post.
In the same vein, Shubham Saboo, a resident of Guwahati, commented on Instagram. “Yes if it’s affecting our defence. Even in the smallest possible manner.”
However, some Netizens also opined that the government’s move of banning PUBG Mobile was not needed since PUBG was originally developed by a Korean game maker. It should be mentioned that the mobile version of the game was developed by Tencent, a Chinese conglomerate.
Instagrammar Royal Sen who goes by the username @adroitmusic said, “No, because it’s not completely Chinese.”
"No. All the phones that you are using and even the microphone/speaker/device/computer used for announcing the ban has origin from China," stated Abdus Sayeed.
Pro players of PUBG Mobile have also reacted to the ban.
"Because it relates to the sovereignty and security of the country, there’s no point supporting PUBG. The government must have obviously done their scrutiny before taking such a crucial step and we completely support them in their decision,” Animesh Agarwal of 8bitThug told G Plus in an exclusive conversation.
He further added that while the ban has made the gamers community upset, they are positive that they’d soon be able to diversify into other games because “PUBG is neither the beginning nor the end of gaming as a whole.”