"The Indian government has officially rescinded a controversial mandate that would have forced smartphone manufacturers to ship new devices with a state-run cybersafety tool preloaded. The decision, confirmed by India's telecoms ministry on Wednesday, marks a swift policy reversal following significant resistance from global tech giants and privacy advocates. The initial directive, issued confidentially on Nov. 28, set a 90-day deadline for vendors to integrate the Sanchar Saathi app into their firmware, with the stipulation that users must not be allowed to delete it."
"While the order applied to all major players, including Xiaomi and Oppo, resistance was spearheaded by the industry's two largest powers: Apple and Samsung. As first reported by Reuters on Tuesday, Apple executives intended to tell government officials that the company would not adhere to the mandate. Sources close to the situation indicated that Apple refuses to entertain such preloading requirements in any market, arguing that allowing undeletable third-party software creates dangerous vulnerabilities within the iOS ecosystem."
"Samsung, one of India's largest smartphone brands, reportedly joined Apple in resisting the directive. According to the BBC, both companies argued that the order was issued without prior consultation and challenged established norms regarding user privacy and device manufacturing. One industry insider characterized the government's tactics as "not only like taking a sledgehammer, [it] is like a double-barrel gun," highlighting the aggressive nature of the requirement."
India rescinded a mandate that would have required smartphone manufacturers to ship new devices with the Sanchar Saathi app preloaded and undeletable. The directive had been issued confidentially on Nov. 28 and set a 90-day deadline for firmware integration. Major manufacturers, led by Apple and Samsung, mounted unified resistance, arguing the requirement created security risks, violated user autonomy and lacked prior consultation. Global privacy advocates and industry insiders criticized the aggressive approach. The government subsequently withdrew the mandate and indicated a shift toward a voluntary model for deploying the cybersafety tool.
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