India’s Mandatory App Order: Will Apple & Others Break Its Privacy Norms to Comply?
India’s Mandatory App Order: Will Apple & Others Break Its Privacy Norms to Comply? Report: Sanchar Saathi App to be Preinstalled & Non-Removable on All New Mobiles Image: Onur Binay / Unsplash The battle between national sovereignty and the Tech giant’s global operating system has met its match in India. According to a new report by the credible news outlet Reuters , the Indian government has silently ordered mobile tech companies to pre-install the government-run cybersecurity app “Sanchar Saathi” on all mobile phones. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has issued an order to different companies, not merely as a suggestion, but making it mandatory for all new mobile phones to be compliant. It not only mandates the Sanchar Saathi app to be installed within a 90-day period, but it also includes a crucial point raising concerns among all privacy experts: users will not be allowed to delete it. For phones already in circulation, manufacturers are requir...