What happened
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has blocked 87 illegal loan lending applications under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 after following due process. The action is part of the government's response to unlawful digital lending practices that can harm borrowers through fraud, coercive recovery methods, and data misuse.
Background and earlier position
Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 empowers the government to direct blocking of public access to information through any computer resource in the interests specified in law. In the digital lending space, illegal applications have remained a recurring governance concern because borrowers can be targeted outside regulated financial channels.
What changed now
The present development shows active use of the blocking power against unlawful loan apps rather than only post-facto complaints or platform warnings. The emphasis on due process is important because blocking powers must operate with legal safeguards, even when the policy objective is consumer protection.
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