Google and Apple have removed MAPS.Me, an offline navigation app, from the Play Store and App Store. According to a report by MoneyControl, the app wrongly depicted India’s external boundary. In December 2024, the Survey of India (SoI) sent a notice under Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act, 2000, to Google’s nodal officer, Priyadarshi Banerjee. The notice highlights inaccuracies in the app’s depiction of the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
The app’s Google Play Store landing page now says, “We’re sorry, the requested URL was not found on this server.” Although the report says SoI has sent a notice to Google, it remains unclear whether a notice was also sent to Apple, as the app is also unavailable on Apple’s App Store for Indian users.
What the govt notices to MAPS.I says
The publication accessed the letter through the Lumen Database. It states: “It is evident that the subject map is in the maps. The app available at the Google Play Store depicts an Indian map with an erroneous external boundary, jeopardising India’s sovereignty and integrity. The depiction of an incorrect map of India is an offence under subsection (2) of the Criminal Law Amendment (Amending) Act, 1990.”
“The government of India considers that map published for use in the country should contain accurate and reliable information, particularly about the external boundaries and coastlines of India, as wrong depiction of these amounts to questioning the territorial integrity,” the notice said.
“It is thus requested that the incorrect map depicted in maps.me app available to download at Google Play Store at para (1) above may be blocked/disabled expeditiously.”
In 2020, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) designated the Survey of India (SoI) as the government agency responsible for directing intermediaries to “disable access to incorrect maps of India.” Based on the information provided by MeitY, SoI issued a notice to Google in 2023 stating that the World Map Quiz app on the Play Store inaccurately depicted the territories of Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh.
