of the noped-out-of-existence dept
The government of India – especially under Prime Minister Narendra Modi – has never been shy about wanting to know what all its billion-plus citizens are up to at any given moment.
Not only does the government apparently have access to almost everything each While it has little internet traffic generated by its citizens, it has also taken steps to ensure that those who want to avoid this ubiquitous surveillance are not allowed to opt out of VPNs or other options that could make their web browsing a little less visible.
Modi’s government has also made clear that it does not like US companies undermining their surveillance efforts by informing residents that their smartphones may have been compromised by government actors.
Last week everything went a step further. The government of India has ordered smartphone providers to do this preventively endangering devices sold to the country’s citizens.
The Indian government last week sent a notice to private companies giving them 90 days to ensure that a government app is “pre-installed on all mobile phones manufactured or imported for use in India.”
The order said the requirement was intended “to identify and report actions that could compromise telecom cybersecurity.” On Tuesday, the government explained that the app, Sanchar Saathi, was intended to prevent crime, including the theft and smuggling of phones and the call center fraud that is wreaking havoc in India and abroad.
Yeah, that sucks. The government reiterated – even as it slowly backed away – that this was something that anyone who didn’t want to be monitored could easily avoid.
On Tuesday afternoon, the government seemed to back down. Jyotiraditya Scindia, the Communications Minister, said that while “this app exists to protect them from fraud and theft”, it was also “completely optional”.
“If you don’t want to register, you shouldn’t register and you can delete it at any time,” he told reporters outside the parliament building.
That claim does not appear to be supported by the facts. Analysts said the order included language suggesting that phone carriers were expected to ensure that the functionality of the government-mandated spyware “was not disabled.”
Not that it matters much at this point. Less than two days after he became the subject of international headlines (apparently debuts first at Reuters), the Modi government do to make this all disappear as quickly as possible:
The Indian government on Wednesday revoked an order that told smartphone makers such as Apple and Samsung to install a state-developed and owned security app on all new devices. The move came after two days of criticism from opposition politicians and privacy groups that the ‘Sanchar Saathi’ app was an attempt to snoop on citizens through their phones.
“The government has decided not to make pre-installation mandatory for mobile phone manufacturers,” India’s communications ministry said in a statement. statement Wednesday afternoon.
That’s better. Much better. But manufacturers still have the option to pre-load this snitchware app voluntarilywhich could be an option for some to score a few points from what is presumably a ‘regime for life’ government led by a relatively charismatic autocrat.
And while the government is currently being criticized for trying to pass this by, it continues to insist that it is the public who are in the wrong:
Although the order to universally install the app was withdrawn, the government continued to defend the app on Wednesday. She said the intention had been to “provide access to cybersecurity for all citizens” and emphasized that the app was “secure and purely intended to help citizens.”
While the app allows users to leverage its tracking software to locate lost or stolen phones and/or defend against scammers using fraudulent numbers or online accounts, it became clear from the secretive rollout that any benefits to citizens were merely the inevitable byproduct of an app clearly intended to expand the government’s surveillance capabilities. It’s the sugar coating on the poison pill. And all the government has to say in defense of its failed nonsense is that there is a rounding error (“2.6 million lost or stolen phones“) in a nation with 1.5 billion mobile phones (that would be 0.17% by all phones) outweighs the harm it intended to do had it been able to deliver on this mandate.
Filed Under: authoritarian nonsense, India, mass surveillance, narendra modi, national security, sanchar saathi
#Indian #government #withdrawing #invasive #mobile #phone #tracking #mandate #hours #issuance