US EditionIndia weighs greater phone-location surveillance; Apple, Google and Samsung protest: Report
India's telecom industry seeks mandatory always-on satellite GPS location on smartphones to improve legal investigations, amid opposition citing privacy and security risks to sensitive users.
- On Dec 5, India's government is reviewing a telecom proposal to mandate always-on satellite location tracking, which Apple, Google and Samsung oppose due to privacy concerns.
- The Modi administration argues legal requests to telcos return only tower-based estimates that can be off by meters, while the Cellular Operators Association of India proposed precise locations require A‑GPS activation, and a letter called this a regulatory overreach.
- Technology experts note A‑GPS can locate users within about a meter, while India Cellular & Electronics Association warned this has no global precedent, and Junade Ali said `This proposal would see phones operate as a dedicated surveillance device`.
- A scheduled Friday meeting with top smartphone industry executives was postponed as India's IT and home ministries continue analysing the proposal and have made no policy decision.
- After a recent preload-app controversy, privacy debate intensifies as India Cellular & Electronics Association warns that 735 million smartphones, mostly Android, include sensitive users at risk.
30 Articles
30 Articles
COAI's proposal calls for always-on location tracking on smartphones. Apple and Google have called this a privacy threat. Learn more about the matter.
India weighs greater phone-location surveillance; Apple, Google and Samsung protest
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Apple, Google and Samsung resist India's THIS surveillance proposal for smartphones
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Exclusive: India weighs greater phone-location surveillance; Apple, Google and Samsung protest
India's government is reviewing a telecom industry proposal to force smartphone firms to enable satellite location tracking that is always activated for better surveillance, a move opposed by Apple, Google and Samsung due to privacy concerns, according to documents, emails and five sources.
Govt weighs always-on location tracking on smartphones; Apple, Google and Samsung protest
After backlash over the Sanchar Saathi app order, a new surveillance debate erupts; Tech giants Apple, Google and Samsung oppose A-GPS activation mandate, calling it an unprecedented privacy overreach
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