E-Paper
Govt bans 14 messaging, calling apps
The apps include Crypviser, Enigma, Mediafire, Briar, BChat, Safeswiss, Wickrme and Nandbox, officials said
The central government on Monday banned 14 mobile messaging and calling apps on concerns that they were being used by terrorists to communicate with supporters in Jammu and Kashmir and with their handlers in Pakistan, officials familiar with the matter said.
The ministry of electronics and information technology, the governing authority, issued an order under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act to block access to the 14 mobile apps on grounds that they were being used to engage in activities “prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order”.
The apps include Crypviser, Enigma, Mediafire, Briar, BChat, Safeswiss, Wickrme and Nandbox, officials said, declining to be named. Such bans are enforced by the government at the request of concerned agencies, they added.
The government has previously banned online gaming, social media and loan application, but this is perhaps the first time that end to end encrypted applications have been actioned. All orders under Section 69(A) are confidential.
Most of the apps banned are end-to-end encrypted platforms for secure messaging and calling. MediaFire is a file hosting, synchronization and cloud storage service.
Section 69 (A) of the IT Act allows the government to take action against posts and accounts that may threaten public order, the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of the state and friendly relations with foreign states.
The applications were also being used by overground workers of terrorist groups based in Jammu and Kashmir, one of the officials cited above said on condition of anonymity. The order to ban the apps was issued at the request of intelligence agencies.
Indian security agencies that track communication among overground workers and terrorists told the government that these mobile applications belonged to companies that did not have any representative in India, which made it difficult to identify and track people who used the apps for unlawful activities, news agency ANI reported.
The order to block a post, account, website or mobile application is approved by a designated officer appointed by the central government, who chairs an interministerial committee comprising officials from the ministries of law, home affairs, information and broadcasting and the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team. The committee approves requests from different stakeholders, including states and central agencies.
