Google removes offline map app from Play Store after govt orders
The app was removed came after the Survey of India (SoI) sent a takedown notice for incorrectly depicting parts of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh as outside the territory of India
Google has removed Maps.me, an offline maps service provider, from its Play Store in India after the Survey of India (SoI) sent a takedown notice for incorrectly depicting parts of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh as outside the territory of India. The app is also unavailable on Apple’s App Store in India, though the maps.me website remains accessible.
“It is observed that the map of India in the ‘maps.me’ app available at Google Play Store depicts the Indian territories of U.T. of Jammu & Kashmir and U.T. of Ladakh incorrectly. Further, the shape of whole external boundary of India has been depicted erroneously,” reads the order sent to Google and shared with Lumen database.
The takedown notice was issued under Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act under which intermediaries can be held liable for third-party content if they fail to remove it after being notified by the “appropriate” government or its agency.
The IT ministry identified SoI in 2020 as the appropriate authority to issue takedown notices for incorrect Indian maps, citing the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1990. Publishing non-conforming Indian maps can result in up to six months imprisonment and/or a fine under this provision.
SoI received the complaint via email on October 25 and sent the order to Google’s grievance officer on December 11.
At the first in-person meeting between government’s grievance appellate committees and social media companies on January 7, officials asked about the possibility of using automated filters to block unofficial Indian maps online within the country.
Maps.me, which uses OpenStreetMap data, was founded by Belarusian engineers in 2010. Now headquartered in Switzerland with an address in Cyprus, it became part of Parity.com Group when Daegu Limited acquired it from Russian Mail.ru Group in 2020.
This isn’t SoI’s first such action. In December 2022, it sent notices against Google India’s ads homepage for similar reasons. The page remains accessible but no longer displays an Indian map. Similar notice went to blogger.com in November 2022.
In April 2023, SoI’s International Boundary Directorate notified Google about a French game showing parts of Jammu and Kashmir, and Arunachal Pradesh as contested territories. In November 2023, another notice targeted Solar Smash for excluding parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and Lakshadweep Islands. This app remains available on both stores.
The incorrect depiction of India’s map online has frequently caused problems, particularly because some territories are internationally recognised as disputed.
