Crackdown on Illegal Digital Lending Apps Urged by Congress Leader
Congress leader K C Venugopal has urged strong legislation against digital lending apps due to rising financial fraud, data theft, and harassment incidents. He proposed declaring related offenses as non-bailable crimes and called for the government's urgent action to protect citizens, sparked by cases like the suicide of a BDS student linked to these apps.
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Senior Congress leader K C Venugopal has called for robust legislation to curb illegal digital lending apps that are increasingly linked to financial fraud, data theft, and cyber harassment incidents. The leader highlighted the urgent need for government intervention to protect citizens from exploitation.
In a letter to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Venugopal urged the classification of offenses related to these apps, such as extortion and online abuse, as serious non-bailable crimes. He proposed a Joint Task Force comprising the Finance, IT, and Home Ministries to dismantle and freeze the assets of these illegal operators. The Congress leader emphasized the need for app compliance with RBI limits and called for banning unauthorized access to users' personal data.
Venugopal proposed setting up a dedicated helpline for grievance redressal and suggested regulatory action to control misleading advertisements and celebrity endorsements. His call for immediate action comes in light of a tragic case where harassment linked to a loan app reportedly contributed to a student's suicide in Kerala.
(With inputs from agencies.)
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