NEW DELHI,
(AAPL.O), opens new tab does not plan to comply with a mandate to preload its smartphones with a state-owned cyber safety app and will convey its concerns to New Delhi, three sources said, after the government’s move sparked surveillance concerns and a political uproar.
The Indian government has confidentially ordered companies including Apple, Samsung (005930.KS), opens new tab and Xiaomi (1810.HK), opens new tab to preload their phones with an app called Sanchar Saathi, or Communication Partner, within 90 days. The app is intended to track stolen phones, block them and prevent them from being misused.
The government also wants manufacturers to ensure that the app is not disabled. And for devices already in the supply chain, manufacturers should push the app to phones via software updates, Reuters was first to report on Monday.
India’s telecom ministry confirmed the move later, describing it as a security measure to combat “serious endangerment” of cyber security. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s political opponents and privacy advocates criticized the move, saying it is a way for the government to gain access to India’s 730 million smartphones.
In the wake of the criticism, India’s telecom minister Jyotiraditya M. Scindia on Tuesday said the app was a “voluntary and democratic system,” adding that users can choose to activate it and can “easily delete it from their phone at any time.”
At present, the app can be deleted by users. Scindia did not comment on or clarify the November 28 confidential directive that ordered smartphone makers to start preloading it and ensure “its functionalities are not disabled or restricted.”
Apple however does not plan to comply with the directive and will tell the government it does not follow such mandates anywhere in the world as they raise a host of privacy and security issues for the company’s iOS ecosystem, said two of the industry sources who are familiar with Apple’s concerns. They declined to be named publicly as the company’s strategy is private.
“Its not only like taking a sledgehammer, this is like a double-barrel gun,” said the first source.
Apple and the telecom ministry did not respond to requests for comment.
In tackling a recent surge of cyber crime and hacking, India is joining authorities worldwide, most recently in Russia, to frame rules blocking the use of stolen phones for fraud or promoting state-backed government service apps.
By James Kisoo
