India\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
A fierce privacy debate erupted in India this week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi\u2019s government was forced to rescind an order requiring smartphone makers to preload a state-run<\/a> cyber safety app on all devices after activists and politicians raised concerns about potential snooping.<\/p>\n For years, the Modi administration has been concerned that its agencies do not get precise locations when legal requests are made to telecom firms during investigations. Under the current system, the firms are limited to using cellular tower data that can only provide an estimated area location, which can be off by several meters.<\/p>\n The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), which represents Reliance\u2019s Jio and Bharti Airtel, has proposed that precise user locations should only be provided if the government orders smartphone makers to activate A-GPS technology \u2014 which uses satellite signals and cellular data \u2014 according to a June internal federal IT ministry email.<\/p>\n That would require location services to always be activated in smartphones, with no option for users to disable them. Apple, Samsung and Alphabet\u2019s Google have told New Delhi that it should not be mandated, said three of the sources who have direct knowledge of the deliberations.<\/p>\n A measure to track device-level location has no precedent anywhere else in the world, lobbying group India Cellular & Electronics Association (ICEA), which represents both Apple and Google, wrote in a confidential July letter to the government, which was viewed by Reuters.<\/p>\n \u201cThe A-GPS network service is not deployed or supported for location surveillance,\u201d said the letter, which added that the measure \u201cwould be a regulatory overreach\u201d.<\/p>\n India\u2019s home ministry had scheduled a meeting of top smartphone industry executives to discuss the matter on Friday, but it was postponed, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said. On Thursday, Reuters sent questions related to this topic to the ministry.<\/p>\n India\u2019s IT and home ministries, which are both analysing the telecom industry\u2019s proposal, did not respond to Reuters queries.<\/p>\n Apple, Samsung, Google, Reliance and Airtel did not respond to requests for comment. Lobby groups ICEA and COAI also did not respond.<\/p>\n At this point, no policy decision has been made by the IT or home ministries.<\/p>\n Taking advantage of A-GPS technology \u2014 which is typically only turned on when certain apps are running or when emergency calls are being made \u2014 could provide authorities with location data precise enough that a user can be tracked to within about a meter, according to technology experts.<\/p>\n \u201cThis proposal would see phones operate as a dedicated surveillance device,\u201d said Junade Ali, a digital forensics expert associated with Britain\u2019s Institution of Engineering and Technology.<\/p>\n Cooper Quintin, a security researcher at the United States-based Electronic Frontier Foundation, said he had not heard of any such proposal elsewhere, calling it \u201cpretty horrifying\u201d.<\/p>\n