PUBG Spin-off Battlegrounds Mobile India found sending data to Chinese servers

Krafton wanted to work with the government to be compliant with local laws after the PUBG Ban. The company, after several attempts, launched the India-specific game, Battlegrounds Mobile India. Until now, the game has only released an early access beta testing app. In Early Access only, the game had over 5 Million Downloads. The official release is yet to see the light of the day on both Android as well as iOS.

But, after an IGN report revealed that the app sends data to Chinese servers, the tables have turned. Quoting sources and cross-checking it using a data packet sniffer app, the report revealed that the company sends data to many Chinese Servers, including one of Tencent. PUBG Mobile in India was the flagship product born out of a partnership between Krafton and Tencent. The report further added, “IGN India readers reached out on condition of anonymity stating that data sent and received by the Battlegrounds Mobile India APK are from China Mobile Communications servers in Beijing, the Tencent-run Proxima Beta in Hong Kong, as well as Microsoft Azure servers located in the US, Mumbai, and Moscow.”

CAIT looks for a ban on Battlegrounds Mobile India

The game has faced a backlash from the government due to Krafton's link to Tencent and the security hazard. The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has demanded that the government ban the app. It also asked Google Play Store to delete it. A CAIT letter stated that although Battlegrounds Mobile India was exclusive to India, user data will be transferred to Singapore and other regions; thus, non-Indian law will apply to user data. Praveen Khandelwal, the Secretary-General of CAIT added that the app will have features of the banned PUBG Mobile game. Further, the application package for the game on the Play Store has pubg.imobile for pre-registration.

Among the list of politicians requesting a ban on the game is former Union Minister and current Arunachal Pradesh MLA Ninong Erin. Telangana MP Dharmapuri Arvind, Gadchiroli MP Ashok Nete, and BJP's Suresh Nakhua have also demanded the ban.