PUBG Mobile India heads into 2021 with plenty of disappointment. After announcing a grand relaunch of the game around Diwali following the ban by the Government of India, there was tremendous anticipation from gamers regarding the relaunch of the game. However, as 2020 came to an end, there was tremendous disappointment in store as the Government of India bluntly rejected any permission for PUBG Mobile India to be relaunched in the country. In an RTI query, the Government of India stated that there was no preferential treatment given to PUBG Mobile and that the blanket ban was still in place following continued India-China tensions. This development has pushed the launch of PUBG Mobile India to March 2021 and that date is dependent on whether the government will change their stance.
With PUBG Mobile India now delayed, gamers in India have resorted to playing the global version of PUBG Mobile which is the Korean one. Although PUBG Mobile is banned in India, there are some intermediaries who are providing the PUBG Global link to be played in the country. The Indian eSports community is caught up in a huge debate as to whether it is lawful or ethical to play the global version of PUBG Mobile despite the ban.
In a report by InsideSport, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) has said that PUBG Mobile was banned in India due to security concerns. The situation arose when one law student filed an Right to Information query to the Ministry regarding whether individuals can be punished for playing the global version of PUBG Mobile despite the ban.
The report has gotten the reply from MEITY which said the game was banned under article 69A of the Information Technology act. In it’s response, the government said, “MEITY does not ban any App. However, blocking of specified Apps was done under the provisions of Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and its Rules namely Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking Access of Information by the Public) Rules, 2009. Section 69A of the Act provides for penalty to intermediaries for non-compliance of the blocking order. However, no penalty is prescribed for individual users of such Apps.”
What does this mean? It states that individuals will not be penalized by the government. However, the intermediaries that provide the link and resource to the individuals will be penalized potentially with a ban or a heavy fine. Thus, gamers can play the global version of PUBG Mobile but with severe restrictions.