JJ Rankin | Jun 22, 6:11 AM | 5 min read
JJ Rankin | Jun 22, 6:11 AM | 5 min read
Steam users in India have been left anxious after access to the platform was blocked by several ISPs across the country. Last week, users of Alliance Broadband in Kolkata raised alarm when the ISP temporarily blocked access to Steam websites. A few days later, a similar situation arose with GTPL, an ISP based in Gujarat. Punjab’s Connect Broadband and Maharashtra’s Channel 3 apparently also suffered from this access issue.
In all the cases, users reported that the Steam Community and Steam Community Market were made inaccessible during the disruption as they were directed to a dead link, which in turn displays a message indicating that the government has blocked it. Alliance reportedly shared with one of their users that the ISP has ‘removed the block’ but is still verifying the directive details issued by the government.
Also Read: Steam Faces Temporary 'Ban' In Kolkata, Leaving Users Frustrated
This govt is giving me headaches and mini heart attacks!
— Rohit Allan Fernandes (@RAF1988) June 20, 2023
I have over 1100 @Steam games, we will need to invest in a VPN and increase the already bad ping / latency we get. Can’t understand why they want to block Steam and not those shady gambling apps. Quite ridiculous! #India pic.twitter.com/bVE2XXqc13
Through the temporary ‘ban’ quickly lifted in West Bengal, several smaller ISPs have reportedly started blocking Steam Community pages as per directives from the Government of India. Valve has not issued any statements regarding the ban on Steam webpages by specific Indian ISPs. But the impending ban could shake things up for several gaming powerhouses considering India has the 2nd largest gamer base in the world, as per a 2022 report.
Earlier this week, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar commented on the online gaming industry and shared that the government has prepared a blueprint of rules that will target games that involve betting, games that can be harmful to users and games that have an addiction factor. Last year the government issued a statement that confirmed the appointment of multiple self-regulatory organisations (SROs) comprising industry representatives, educationists, child experts and psychology experts who will weigh in on the new policies.
Steam has in the past been banned in Indonesia last year. The Indonesian government had blocked access to several online services, including Steam, Epic Games, PayPal, and Yahoo after the companies failed to abide by a directive related to the country’s restrictive content moderation laws.
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