The saga of a mandatory government security app which Apple and Google had to preinstall on their phones didn’t last long after Apple refused to play ball.
The Indian government had already backed down on preventing iPhone owners from deleting the “security” app, and has now made a complete U-turn in the space of just 48 hours …
From demand to withdrawal in two days
The story began on Monday, when India ordered Apple to pre-install an undeletable state security app on iPhones. The government positioned it as a way to help users recover lost and stolen phones, but since it ensures that all phones can be tracked by the government, that had obvious implications for user privacy.
We said at the time that Apple was likely to push back on this, hoping to negotiate a compromise, but the company went further than this and outright refused to comply.
The company’s response led to India immediately backing down on one key element of its demand: that users be unable to remove the Sanchar Saathi app from their devices. It was, however, still insisting that Apple and Google pre-install it.
The Guardian reports that India has now completed its U-turn by revoking the requirement for it to be pre-installed by smartphone makers.
India’s government has backtracked on an order for all smartphones to be pre-installed with a state-owned security app after a mass outcry over privacy concerns and refusal by technology companies to comply. The department of telecommunications confirmed it had revoked its previous order for all technology companies to mandatorily install the government’s Sanchar Saathi cybersecurity app on to every smartphone in India within 90 days […] The decision by the government to revoke the order was celebrated by groups advocating for online rights and privacy. In a statement, the internet freedom foundation said: “For now, we should treat this as cautious optimism, not closure, until the formal legal direction is published and independently confirmed.”
The success of Apple’s stance reinforces the desire I expressed earlier for the company to take a stronger position in the face of similar demands from the Chinese government.
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