Overview

• The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and Survey of India (SoI) directed Google to remove the Ablo app for misrepresenting India's borders, including Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, and Lakshadweep.
• Google removed the app from its Play Store following the directive, with the app already unavailable on Apple's App Store for Indian users.
• The takedown was legally justified under the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 1990, and Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
• Ablo, a social video chat app developed by Belgium-based MassiveMedia and later acquired by Match Group, had over 10,000 downloads in India before its removal.
• This action is part of India's ongoing efforts to regulate digital platforms, following similar interventions in 2021, 2023, and earlier in 2025 targeting apps and platforms for inaccurate map depictions.