Apple And Google Remove Global Apps Banned By Government
In a move to combat cybercrimes committed by fraudsters, the Department of Telecommunication (DoT), has banned two eSIMs from operating the country. The global tech giants, Google and Apple have followed up with the order from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), in detaching the two eSIMs. Last week, the two eSIMs which have been offering apps named Airalo and Holafly have been taken off the list, from Play store and App store’s Indian platforms, respectively. The internet service providers and telecom companies have been asked to block the access to the websites of these specified apps within the country by the DoT.
While the two eSIMS – Airalo and Holafly have been banned in India, other eSIMS such as Nomad eSIM and aloSIM are active and available in the country, reported the ET. Airalo and Holafly have been banned as it has been noticed that cybercrimes are being committed in India using international telephone numbers. This move is in line with the Telecom Ministry and its DoT’s active combat to wipe out cyber fraudsters. As per the National Crime Records Bureau report, in the year 2022, cybercrimes in India has gone up by 24.4 percent, with the registered cases numbering up to 65,893, in comparison to the previous year’s 52,974 cases.
To start the sale of eSIMs in India, the company is required to obtain a no objection (NOC) certificate from the DoT. Along with this, the rules also say that, the eSIMS can be sold only through dealers who are authorised to sell them, and the identity proof of customers, such as passport copy or visa is to be demanded from them, before selling the Sim. The sellers of global SIM’s are further required to furnish details of the SIM’s to security agencies every month. The two companies, Airalo, which is based at Singapore and Holafly, which is based at Spain, reportedly did not have the necessary authorisation to sell in India, reported the mint.
An eSIM is an an ‘industry-standard digital SIM that allows you to activate a mobile plan from your network provider without having to use a physical counterpart,’ says the Apple. Users of iPhone is enabled to have above eight eSIMS and can use two phone numbers at the same time.
Of now, the eSIMS have been removed promptly by Apple and Google as per the DoT instructions. Both the tech giants have not released any statements to this. Google’s Play store has removed these apps, specifically for the Indian region only. A search in the Play store responds, saying that the app is “not available in your region,” said the ET.
