Govt Asks Google To Remove Chinese App 'Ablo' For Displaying Wrong Map of India

New Delhi: The government on Monday ordered Google to remove Chinese chat App ‘Ablo’ from its play store for displaying an incorrect map of India.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in collaboration with the Survey of India (SOI) ordered the US tech giant Google to remove the Chinese chat app 'Ablo' from its Play Store for showing an incorrect map of India.

According to the information, this Chinese app was not depicting India's borders correctly.

The map in the Chinese App ‘Ablo’ misrepresented Union Territories Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh and also omitted out Lakshadweep Islands.

In a notice issued to Google, the government said that such misrepresentation jeopardises the sovereignty and integrity of India.

The Government cited Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 1990 which calls for a punishable offence and Section 79 (3) (B) of the IT Act 2000 which directs the online platform to remove content that violates India laws.

The Application has been already removed from Apple ’s App store.

What we know about Ablo App 

• Ablo is a social video chat App that has been developed by Belgium-based company MassiveMedia. The company MassiveMedia was later acquired by Match Group which is the parent company for Tinder and OkCupid.
• Ablo helps people to connect with strangers via live video and instant messaging.
• One of the unique features of the App is the ability to live translate chats and conversations in real time.
• Soon after the launch, the App quickly became popular among youngesters as it gave them the chance to connect with people globally.
• However, the government has directed Google to remove the App on its play store after it misrepresented the Indian map.