The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Survey of India (SoI) are clamping down on apps hosted on app stores such as Google Play Store that have been depicting the Indian map incorrectly.
The SoI issued a notice to Google in June, stating that the app World Map Quiz, hosted on the Play Store, depicted the territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh wrongly. The app, developed by Qbis Studio, has gathered over 5 million downloads on the Play Store.
India’s Information Technology Act and the IT Rules prohibit publishers of content from hosting any content that is illegal under any law in any jurisdiction. According to the notice sent under Sec 79 (3) (b) of the IT Act, the incorrect depiction of India’s boundary jeopardises the sovereignty and Integrity of the country. The SoI also informed Google that showing an incorrect map of India is an offence under the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1990.
SoI has also issued notice to Google about MA 2 – President Simulator, a game on the Play Store that also depicted the maps of J&K and Ladakh incorrectly.
