Pushback leads to govt U-turn on Sanchar Saathi
The Tribune Editorial: There was something suspicious about the directive which stated that the app must be preloaded, visible at first use and that its “functionalities must not be disabled or restricted.”
A fierce backlash has forced the Modi government to withdraw its order requiring smartphone makers to pre-install the Sanchar Saathi app, a state-run cybersecurity application, on all new devices. The Centre did a U-turn after it tried in vain to allay fears that the measure could compromise user privacy or facilitate surveillance. Even Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia’s assurance in Parliament that Sanchar Saathi was voluntary, ‘deletable’ and inoperable without user registration failed to convince the Opposition as well as privacy advocates. At the outset, there was something suspicious about the directive which stated that the app must be preloaded, visible at first use and that its “functionalities must not be disabled or restricted.” This set the alarm bells ringing in political, legal and technological circles. Questions were raised about digital rights and state overreach. Some detractors even drew a parallel with Pegasus, the Israeli military-grade spyware which was allegedly used by the government to target journalists, Opposition leaders and activists in recent years.
