Amid security concerns, Australia to ban TikTok on government devices
Government fears that the application's security could be compromised and the platform could be used for foreign interference by China.
Indian government with a pretext to the rise of anti-china sentiments banned 59 Chinese apps citing and security of user data and privacy.
The list included popular mobile apps such as TikTok, CamScanner, UCBrowser and ShareIt to name a few.
However, the biggest doubt on everyone’s mind is, why the PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds or PUBG or the Call of Duty Mobile battle royale game did not find any mention in the list of banned apps?
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PUBG is not banned in India as it is not entirely Chinese. The game has been created and managed by Bluehole which is a South Korean organisation.
Back in the year 2017, Player Unknown’s Battleground was initially made available for Microsoft Windows which was available via Steam Store. The game was published and developed by PUBG Corporation, a subsidiary of South Korean video game company Bluehole. Later they, partnered with Tencent, China’s biggest gaming company to enter the Chinese market.
The game is distributed in India by Tencent Holdings. The game did not end up in the banned list due to its mixed-ownership since it’s not entirely Chinese.
The Call of Duty Mobile, even though owned by Tencent Games, has still not been banned in India and users can continue to play the game on Android and iOS.
Call of Duty Mobile is the mobile version of the famous video game series ‘Call of Duty’. The game received massive response during beta testing, as well as when it was released.
COD Mobile, which is one of the most loved mobile gaming apps, is developed by an American tech company called Activision Blizzard in partnership with Tencent Game, the company behind PUBG Mobile and Timi.
Tencent Holdings also has 5 per cent ownership in Activision Blizzard.
While one cannot dismiss the game’s Chinese links, its mixed-ownership could have played a role in the government’s decision to not omit COD from its list of banned apps.
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