Just days after abandoning a requirement for smartphone manufacturers to include a government-developed security application, India is evaluating a new suggestion from the telecommunications sector. According to Reuters, this initiative involves compelling device producers to implement perpetual satellite-assisted positioning, known as Assisted GPS.
Under this proposal, global positioning features on smartphones would need to stay active continuously, without any user ability to deactivate them. Additionally, the plan calls for manufacturers to suppress alerts that inform users when their mobile network providers retrieve their position data. Reuters indicates that India's Ministry of Home Affairs had scheduled discussions with mobile industry leaders for Friday, though the session has been delayed.
Supporters of the idea argue that it would enhance the capabilities of security forces to monitor threats more effectively. Officials in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government have expressed ongoing worries that current investigative tools lack sufficient precision in pinpointing locations. Data from cellular towers can deviate by multiple meters, whereas this enhanced tracking could refine accuracy to within about three meters, prioritizing public safety over individual data protection for the nation's 1.4 billion residents.
Major companies including Apple, Google, and Samsung are reportedly against the measure and have pressed the administration to dismiss it. The India Cellular & Electronics Association (ICEA), representing these firms, sent a private correspondence earlier this summer highlighting that such a mandate lacks any global equivalent. The document characterized the suggestion as excessive governmental interference and cautioned that it might endanger the safety of armed forces members, judicial figures, business leaders, and media professionals.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) issued a warning about the potential policy in a message to Engadget. 'Mandating constant activation of A-GPS on mobile phones would represent a disturbing step by Indian authorities, profoundly affecting the personal data rights of all citizens,' stated EFF Senior Staff Technologist Cooper Quintin. 'This adjustment would grant telecom providers and authorities access to precise whereabouts whenever desired, possibly bypassing required judicial oversight.'