Indian government reviews telecom industry proposal for always-on location tracking; Apple, Google and Samsung object due to privacy concerns
At the beginning of this month, DoT issued directions for smartphone manufacturers in India to make it mandatory for the Sanchar Saathi app to come pre-installed in mobiles. It was said that this move was taken to accelerate adoption, but this decision faced backlash online due to privacy concerns, while Apple also stated its unwillingness to modify its software for the pre-installation of this app. Looking at the reactions, the government decided to revoke this decision.
Well, now yet another privacy debate has started in India. Reportedly, the Indian government is reviewing a telecom industry proposal to force smartphone firms to enable satellite location tracking that is always activated for better surveillance.
As per a June internal federal IT ministry email, the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), which represents Reliance’s Jio and Bharti Airtel, has proposed that precise user locations should only be provided if the government orders smartphone makers to activate A-GPS technology (that uses satellite signals and cellular data). The A-GPS technology is said to provide authorities with location data precise enough that a user can be tracked to within about a meter.
This move will require location services to always be on in smartphones, and users won’t have the choice to disable them. Such a mandate is not issued anywhere in the world, and if accepted, it will be a first-of-its-kind.
Companies like Apple, Google, and Samsung are opposing this move, citing privacy concerns. They have argued that such a rule should not be mandated, while the India Cellular & Electronics Association, which represents Google and Apple, has said that the measure ‘would be a regulatory overreach.’ The ICEA has also warned that its user base would include people from the military, judges, corporate executives, and journalists, adding that proposed location tracking will risk their security.
Junade Ali, a digital forensics expert associated with Britain’s Institution of Engineering and Technology, said, “This proposal would see phones operate as a dedicated surveillance device.”
The telecom group has also urged the government to order phone makers to disable the pop-up features that alert users about their location being tracked, to which Apple and Google’s group argued, again citing privacy concerns.
The meeting to discuss this proposal with top smartphone industry executives was scheduled for Friday but was later postponed. It could be held in the coming days.
