India ready to change state-run security app order after outcry

India is willing to amend an order requiring smartphone makers to pre-install a state-run cybersecurity app, the telecoms minister said on Wednesday, signalling a softening government stance following a backlash over surveillance fears.

Earlier in the day, the main opposition party took the government to task over the issue, while newspaper editorials joined privacy advocates in denouncing the move. The government is also likely to find itself at odds with phone manufacturers. Apple does not plan to comply with the directive, sources have said.

"We are ready to make changes to the order based on the feedback we receive," Communications Minister Jyotiraditya M. Scindia told lawmakers in parliament.

The Indian government has confidentially ordered companies including Apple, Samsung and Xiaomi to preload new phones with an app called Sanchar Saathi, or Communication Partner, within 90 days, Reuters was first to report on Monday.

The government says the app only helps track and block stolen phones and prevents them from being misused.

Senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said in a notice to the parliament that the government needed to clarify the legal authority for "mandating a non-removable app" and called for the house to debate privacy and security risks. "The grave, serious and real apprehension is also that such compulsorily installed app can have a backdoor, thereby absolutely compromising the data and privacy of the user," he added.

The notice also called for the disclosure of what independent cybersecurity audits, safeguards and misuse-prevention mechanisms are in place for the app.

Describing the app as a tool to combat the "serious endangerment" of cyber security, the government also ordered that the app be pushed to users via software updates for phones already sold and for manufacturers to ensure that the app is not disabled.

RUSSIAN EXAMPLE

Modi's plan has little precedent, according to industry sources. Russia may be the only other known example. Moscow in August ordered that a state-backed messenger application called MAX, a rival to WhatsApp that critics say could be used to track users, must be pre-installed on all mobile phones and tablets.

Apple will convey its concerns to New Delhi, noting that it does not follow such mandates anywhere in the world as they raise a host of privacy and security issues for the company's iOS ecosystem, sources have said.

The plan has become the story of the day on Indian prime time news, with politicians and privacy advocates sparring over its pros and cons.

Major newspapers also chimed in, with The Indian Express saying the directive "raises serious apprehensions of surveillance and intrusion".

The Times of India said the government must "withdraw the order", adding that phones "are our private space and one mandatory intrusion by govt raises fears of more in the future."

The storm of controversy marks the second major time that Modi has faced criticism over issues of privacy. In 2020, his government also came under fire for a COVID-19 contact-tracing app compulsory for use by office workers. That measure was later diluted to a request when privacy advocates protested.

Downloads for the app have risen, however, with data from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower showing a 13 per cent jump in daily downloads on Monday from a day earlier to 78,000.