India Considers 24/7 Phone Tracking, Apple Pushes Back
India's government is reviewing a telecom sector proposal that would require all smartphone manufacturers to activate satellite location tracking for improved monitoring. However, Apple, Google and Samsung are resisting the initiative due to privacy concerns as revealed by documents, emails and five insiders.
A significant discussion about privacy emerged in India this week following the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's withdrawal of a directive that required all smartphone manufacturers to install a government-operated cybersecurity app on every device due to worries about surveillance expressed by activists and lawmakers.
Reasons Behind the Government's Interest
For years, the Modi administration has worried that its agencies fail to obtain locations when making legal demands to telecom companies amid investigations. Presently, these companies rely on cellular tower information. This method only yields a location that may be inaccurate by multiple meters.
The Cellular Operators Association of India stands for Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel. The organisation has suggested that exact user locations ought to be shared solely if the government mandates smartphone manufacturers to enable A-GPS technology, which utilises satellite signals along with data, as stated in a June internal email from the federal IT ministry.
This implies that location services must constantly remain active on smartphones without any choice for users to disable them. Apple, Samsung and Alphabet have informed New Delhi that such a mandate should not be imposed. This information comes from three sources closely involved in the discussions.
Technology Firms Resist
No similar device-specific location-tracking regulation exists globally. India Cellular & Electronics Association, an industry advocacy organisation representing Apple and Google, stated in a letter to the government seen by Reuters in July that "The A-GPS network service is neither implemented nor intended for location monitoring." The letter further mentioned that the measure would constitute overextension.
India's home ministry had planned a gathering of leading smartphone industry leaders to address the issue on Friday. It was delayed, according to a source with firsthand knowledge of the situation. Reuters forwarded inquiries regarding this subject to the ministry on Thursday.
India's IT and home ministries are reviewing the telecom industry's proposal. Reuters inquiries went unanswered by them. Apple, Samsung, Google, Reliance and Airtel also did not reply to requests for comments. Lobby groups ICEA and COAI remained unresponsive. Up to this point, the IT and home ministries have not made any policy decisions.
How precise would the tracking be
Utilising A-GPS technology, officials can obtain location information with accuracy to pinpoint a user to within roughly one meter, experts in the field say. The technology activates when specific applications are in use or when emergency calls are made.
According to Junade Ali, a forensics specialist at Britain's Institution of Engineering and Technology, this would turn the phones into exclusive surveillance tools. Cooper Quintin, a security analyst at the U.S.-based Electronic Frontier Foundation, mentioned he was unaware of any suggestion elsewhere and described it as quite terrifying.
It is common for governments around the globe to look for methods to monitor the movements or information of cellphone users. Russia has required that every mobile phone in the country have a government-supported communications application installed.
For more Technology Privacy News and Surveillance Updates, check out Inspirepreneur Magazine for the latest digital rights affecting phone users worldwide.
At Inspirepreneurs Magazine, covering entrepreneurship, business failures, and the human stories behind the world's most ambitious founders. She writes at the intersection of strategy and storytelling.
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