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Taking the entire mobile gaming community by storm, BGMI was suddenly delisted from both the Apple Store and Google Play Store on July 28. The popular BR title had already amassed 100 million downloads within a year of its release. However, the potential ban became a huge setback for Indian gamers.
Although it has been weeks since the title was removed from the stores, many fans are yet to learn about its cause. Gripping the knowledge would help them understand the situation better.
What led to BGMI's ban in India?
Based on a report from a reputed news channel, a senior official from MEITY mentioned how Battlegrounds Mobile India has multiple harmful codes and requires gamers to allow multiple critical permissions through which their data can be surveyed from outside.
He further stated that apps like BGMI are detrimental to the Indian security grid. This response also showed how MEITY acted on reports from various agencies and ordered Google and Apple to delist the game from their virtual stores. They followed the rules of Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Section 69A of the Information Technology Act entitles the Indian Government to prohibit the use of any content in the interest of Indian integrity, sovereignty, and security of the state, as well as friendly relations with foreign countries or for public order.
Meanwhile, Mr. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, answered an unstarred question raised by Mr. Rodmal Nagar, a BJP MP.
He responded by saying that MEITY had identified potentially harmful apps that were sending information out of the country. He also highlighted the role of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) in the identification of such apps.
According to him, MEITY acted on the urge of the MHA and took down multiple apps as a result of the collection and transmission of stored user data in an unlawful manner. These detrimental apps were developed in foreign states, including China. Mr. Chandrasekhar's response hinted that BGMI might be one of the 348 apps banned for the said reason.
Krafton's statements on the BGMI ban till date
Since the removal of the game, Krafton has released a couple of statements regarding their take on the ban.
Sean Hyunil Sohn, the CEO of Krafton, released an initial statement emphasizing the company's wish to develop India's gaming ecosystem. He mentioned that Krafton has always stressed the privacy and security of user data.
He added that the company has always abided by all Indian rules (together with data protection laws and regulations) and will continue to do so in the future.
Thanking fans and users for their unwavering support, he requested them to remain patient and wait for upcoming announcements from the company.
Krafton's CFO, Bae Dong-geun, arranged a crucial conference call where he talked about the company's actions on the popular game's suspension. Agreeing with Sohn, he spoke about how Krafton has always respected and upheld the Indian government's privacy policies. He also mentioned that they were trying their best to cooperate with MEITY to see the game's comeback.
BGMI players and fans are hoping that Krafton will take the necessary measures to get the title back on the virtual stores.
