The Indian Government is reviewing a telecom industry proposal to force smartphone manufacturers to enable satellite-based location tracking for “better surveillance”, according to a Reuters report. Notably, Apple, Google and Samsung have reportedly opposed this mandate, citing privacy concerns.
Some Context:
This development comes on the heels of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) mandating the pre-installation of the Sanchar Saathi app for all smartphone manufacturers selling their phones in India.
Notably, this mandate had raised significant privacy and user-choice concerns, especially as Rule 7(B) stated that “its (Sanchar Saathi’s) functionalities are not disabled or restricted”: effectively making uninstalling or disabling the app impossible. However, on December 3 the government withdrew its earlier directive.
Now, the government is seeking to require smartphone manufacturers to enable satellite-based location tracking for “better surveillance”. This move would give authorities access to far more precise location data than what is available through cellular tower triangulation, which only estimates a user’s location and cannot deliver the hyper-specific accuracy of GPS-level data.
Apparently, the Modi-led regime has been concerned about imprecise location data that its agencies receive when they make legal requests during investigations. In this light, the Indian Government is reviewing the telecom industry’s proposal to make high-precision satellite-based location data a default in all smartphones.
To achieve this, the smartphones have to deploy A-GPS technology, which can use both satellite signals as well as cellular data, according to the proposal sent by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), to the IT Ministry.
Despite such matters apparently falling under the purview of the Communications Ministry and the DoT, the Union Home Ministry scheduled a meeting for today, which was ultimately postponed.
Govt’s Wish For Precise Location Tracking Goes Back To 2010
For context, Indian Governments have been trying to get their hands on more precise location data since at least 2010. The then Indian government sent a notice to Indian telecom operators, asking them to sharpen their ‘location awareness’. To explain, the DoT back then told telecom operators to implement the “Location Based Service” to an accuracy of 100 metres, and gradually increase it to 50 metres.
It is important to note that the DoT notice asked for the implementation of this notice time frame for specific states like “States of Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal and the North-East Service Area,” which are often prone to conflicts due to terrorist and secessionist activities, including Naxalism-related activities.
What is A-GPS Technology?
A-GPS stands for Assisted GPS, which is often used in the aviation…
Source link
Disclaimer
We strive to uphold the highest ethical standards in all of our reporting and coverage. We blogs.grocliq.com want to be transparent with our readers about any potential conflicts of interest that may arise in our work. It’s possible that some of the investors we feature may have connections to other businesses, including competitors or companies we write about. However, we want to assure our readers that this will not have any impact on the integrity or impartiality of our reporting. We are committed to delivering accurate, unbiased news and information to our audience, and we will continue to uphold our ethics and principles in all of our work. Thank you for your trust and support.
Website Upgradation is going on for any glitch kindly connect at [email protected]
