India Considers Enhanced Telephone Surveillance Amid Apple, Google, and Samsung Opposition

NEW DELHI, Dec 5 (Reuters) – India’s authorities is reviewing a telecom business proposal to pressure smartphone companies to allow satellite tv for pc location monitoring that’s all the time activated for higher surveillance, a transfer opposed by Apple, Google and Samsung as a consequence of privateness considerations, in accordance with paperwork, emails and 5 sources.

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For years, the Modi administration has been involved its businesses don’t get exact places when authorized requests are made to telecom companies throughout investigations. Underneath the present system, the companies are restricted to utilizing mobile tower knowledge that may solely present an estimated space location, which might be off by a number of meters.

A measure to trace device-level location has no precedent anyplace else on the earth, lobbying group India Mobile & Electronics Affiliation (ICEA), which represents each Apple and Google, wrote in a confidential July letter to the federal government, which was considered by Reuters.

“The A-GPS community service … (is) not deployed or supported for location surveillance,” stated the letter, which added that the measure “can be a regulatory overreach.”

‘DEDICATED SURVEILLANCE DEVICE’

India’s dwelling ministry had scheduled a gathering of prime smartphone business executives to debate the matter on Friday nevertheless it was postponed, a supply with direct data of the matter stated. On Thursday, Reuters despatched questions associated to this matter to the ministry.

India’s IT and residential ministries, that are each analysing the telecom business’s proposal, didn’t reply to Reuters queries.

Apple, Samsung, Google, Reliance and Airtel didn’t reply to requests for remark. Foyer teams ICEA and COAI additionally didn’t reply.

At this level, no coverage resolution has been made by the IT or dwelling ministries.

Profiting from A-GPS expertise – which is usually solely turned on when sure apps are working or when emergency calls are being made – may present authorities with location knowledge exact sufficient {that a} consumer might be tracked to inside a few meter, in accordance with expertise specialists.

“This proposal would see telephones function as a devoted surveillance system,” stated Junade Ali, a digital forensics professional related to Britain’s Establishment of Engineering and Expertise.

Cooper Quintin, a safety researcher on the U.S.-based Digital Frontier Basis, stated he had not heard of any such proposal elsewhere, calling it “fairly horrifying.”

TELCOS VS SMARTPHONE FIRMS

India is the world’s second-biggest cellular market with 735 million smartphones as of mid-2025, the place Google’s Android powers greater than 95% of the units, with the remainder utilizing Apple’s iOS, Counterpoint Analysis says.

Apple and Google’s foyer group, the ICEA, argued of their July letter that there are important “authorized, privateness, and nationwide safety considerations” with the proposal from the telecom group.

It warned their consumer base would come with individuals from the army, judges, company executives and journalists, including that proposed location monitoring risked their safety provided that they maintain delicate data.

Even the previous means of location monitoring is turning into problematic, the telecom group stated, as smartphone makers present a pop-up message to customers, alerting them that their “service is attempting to entry your location.”

“A goal can simply verify that he’s being tracked by safety businesses,” stated the telecom group, urging the federal government to order telephone makers to disable the pop-up options.

Privateness considerations ought to take precedence and India must also not take into account disabling the pop-ups, Apple and Google’s group argued in its July letter to the federal government.

This may “guarantee transparency and consumer management over their location.”

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