Google removed around 100 personal loan apps that violated user security between December 2020 and January 2021

Google has removed around 100 money-lending apps that may not have complied with the applicable legal and regulatory framework from December 2020 to January 20, 2021, Parliament informed on Wednesday.

The Department of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has received a number of public complaints against fraud and embezzlement by a few online instant loan applications available on the Internet, including Google Playstore, said the Minister of State for Electronics and Computing Sanjay Dhotre in a written response to Lok Sabha.

He added that the complaints were mainly related to the high interest rates, the alleged collection of personal data and its misuse, fraudulent and illegal practices of physical threats and the use of other coercive methods for collection. loan and that few cases have also been brought to court. .

“After being informed by law enforcement of the availability of certain money-lending applications that may not have complied with the applicable legal and regulatory framework, Google has already removed around 100 of these applications since December 2020 until January 20, 2021, “he said. .

Although Google said it removed some money-lending apps that violated its user security policies, it did not disclose the number of these apps or their names.

The Minister pointed out that the Reserve Bank of India also issued a press release in December 2020 stating that legitimate public lending activities can be undertaken by banks, NBFCs registered with the RBI and other entities. regulated by state governments under appropriate statutory provisions such as laws on lending of money.

Members of the public have been warned not to fall prey to such unscrupulous activity and have been asked to do a background check on a company offering loans online or through mobile apps, he said.

Regarding a separate issue on social media governance, Dhotre said social media platforms are intermediaries under the Information Technology (IT) Act 2000.

<< The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technologies (MeitY) had proposed to modify the 2011 rules on information technology (directives to intermediaries), notified under article 79 of the law of 2000 on Information Technology.

The proposed changes to said rules were posted on MeitY’s website on December 24, 2018, inviting public comment, he said.

He added that a meeting was held with legal experts and privacy advocates on December 29, 2018 to share the outlook for the proposed changes. Based on those discussions, as well as comments received during public consultations, the rules are being finalized, he said.

The government regularly interacts with social media platforms regarding the steps to be taken to make social media safer, he added.