India revokes state-run security app for smartphones after outcry
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The government says the app only helps to track and block stolen phones and prevents them from being misused.
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NEW DELHI – India has revoked its order to smartphone makers to preload a state-run cybersecurity app, days after the plan triggered a major backlash from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s opponents and privacy activists over surveillance fears.
The Indian government had confidentially ordered companies including Apple, Samsung and Xiaomi to preload new phones with an app called Sanchar Saathi, or Communication Partner, within 90 days, Reuters was first to report on Dec 1.
“Government has decided not to make the pre-installation mandatory for mobile manufacturers,” India’s communications ministry said in a press statement on Dec 3.
The move comes after days of protests from opposition parties over the issue, while newspaper editorials joined privacy advocates in denouncing the move.
The Government also found itself at odds with phone manufacturers, as Apple and Samsung had plans to not comply with the directive, sources said.
The plan had become a hot issue on Indian primetime news, with politicians and privacy advocates sparring over its pros and cons.
The Government had said the app only helps track and block stolen phones and prevents them from being misused.
Earlier on Dec 3, senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said in a notice to Parliament that the government needed to clarify the legal authority for “mandating a non-removable app” and called for the House to debate privacy and security risks.
“The grave, serious and real apprehension is also that such compulsorily installed app can have a backdoor, thereby absolutely compromising the data and privacy of the user,” he added.
The notice also called for the disclosure of what independent cybersecurity audits, safeguards and misuse-prevention mechanisms are in place for the app.
Mr Modi’s plan has little precedent, according to industry sources. Russia may be the only other known example. Moscow in August ordered that a state-backed messenger application called MAX, a rival to WhatsApp that critics say could be used to track users, must be pre-installed on all mobile phones and tablets.
“The app is secure and purely meant to help citizens from bad actors in the cyber world,” the government said in its statement on Dec 3, saying it was taking the decision given the app was finding wide user acceptance anyway.
The storm of controversy marks the second major time that Mr Modi has faced criticism over issues of privacy. In 2020, his government also came under fire for a Covid-19 contact-tracing app compulsory for use by office workers. That measure was later diluted to a request when privacy advocates protested.
Downloads for the app have risen, however, with data from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower showing a 13 per cent jump in daily downloads on Dec 1 from a day earlier to 78,000. REUTERS
