Apple, Google and Samsung resist India's THIS surveillance proposal for smartphones

The Indian government has reportedly landed in hot water as Big Tech firms like Apple, Google, and Samsung have protested a recent order mandating always-on satellite location tracking for smartphones.

What Google, Apple and Samsung are condemning in unison was proposed by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), seeking to activate A-GPS technology, which uses satellite signals for precise location tracking.

As of now, Indian telecom firms rely on cellular tower data, which can only provide approximate locations.

Raising privacy concerns, industry experts, activists and politicians recently forced the incumbent Indian administration to withdraw an order requiring smartphone manufacturers to preload a state-run cyber safety app called Sanchar Saathi.

Citing internal documents, Reuters reported that tech giants have informed the Indian government that enforcing always-on location services would be a regulatory overreach.

Such a measure has no precedent globally and would effectively turn smartphones into "dedicated surveillance devices", stated a confidential letter from the India Cellular & Electronics Association (ICEA).

A meeting between India’s home ministry and smartphone industry executives was scheduled to reflect on the proposal, and has now been postponed.

It's worth noting that no policy decision has been made, and neither the IT nor the home ministries have responded to inquiries regarding the matter.

Experts are of the view that implementing A-GPS for constant tracking would allow authorities to pinpoint users' locations within a metre, voicing concerns about privacy violations and potential misuse of data.