The Indian government may be mulling the possibility of mandatory GPS tracking via mobile devices — despite pushback from the smartphone industry. The revelation came mere days after the Centre withdrew its orders for mandatory pre-installation of the Sanchar Saathi app on all mobile phones. The proposal had sparked concerns about privacy and surveillance — with Apple and Samsung both refusing to comply with the directive. Critics argue that mandatory pre-installation could enable unchecked state surveillance and infringe on consumer choice. The GPS monitoring proposal has also received a similarly critical response.
The proposal for mandatory tracking was reportedly shared by the telecom industry. It currently remains under scrutiny from both the IT and Home Ministries.
‘Forced’ location tracking?
According to a Reuters report, the Indian government is now reviewing a telecom industry proposal that would force smartphone companies to enable satellite location tracking. Firms currently glean an estimated area location using cellular tower data that can be off by several metres. The Cellular Operators Association of India has reportedly proposed that precise user locations be provided only if the government orders smartphone makers to activate A-GPS technology – which uses satellite signals and cellular data. The details were outlined in a June internal federal IT ministry email accessed by the news agency.
Use of A-GPS technology would require location services to always be activated on smartphones with no option for users to disable the technology. Reuters quoted sources in the know to add that Apple, Samsung and Alphabet’s Google have all told New Delhi that this should not be mandated.
Unprecedented move
Lobbying group India Cellular and Electronics Association (which represents both Apple and Google) has reportedly pushed back vehemently against the proposal. According to Reuters, it wrote a confidential letter to the government and reiterated that a measure to track device-level location had no precedent anywhere else in the world. The missive insisted that the A-GPS network service was “not deployed or supported for location surveillance” and dubbed the measure “a regulatory overreach”.
Sources with direct knowledge of the matter also told Reuters that the Home Ministry had scheduled a meeting of top smartphone industry executives to discuss the matter on Friday. But the interaction was postponed, and few details remain available.