Govt directs digital platforms not to carry ads of fraudulent loan apps

The government has directed social media and online platforms to ensure that they do not host advertisements of fraudulent loan apps, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar said on Wednesday.

Chandrasekhar said the IT ministry has made it clear to the platforms that they cannot carry advertisements of fraudulent loan apps as those are misleading and exploit people using the internet.

"One of the areas we are now cracking down on is advertising of fraudulent loan apps that many platforms are carrying and we have, through yesterday's advisory, made it clear that no intermediary can carry advertisements of fraudulent loan apps because it will be misleading and exploits people who are using the internet," the Minister of State for Electronics and IT said on the sidelines of an event.

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Jurisprudence and government approach to safe and trusted internet is evolving, he said adding that IT rules clearly specify 11 areas of prohibited content.

Recently, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has lifted a year-long ban allowing the fintech companies to resume their online payment aggregator operations and onboard new merchants.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) in India raided offices of RazorPay, Paytm, Cashfree, and PayU due to an FIR related to Chinese fake loan apps, restraining them from onboarding new merchants, in September 2022.