Editorial: Sanchar Saathi — Safety or surveillance?

The Indian government’s increased push for sovereign control over digital infrastructure has already curtailed individual freedoms in the country

With the Pegasus spyware scam fresh in public memory, the NDA government’s handling of the rollout of ‘Sanchar Saathi’, the state-developed cybersecurity app, raised doubts in the minds of the people, and justifiably so. The backlash to the stealthily issued order on mandatory pre-installation of the app on every smartphone was strong and swift. Though the government has since withdrawn the directive, ostensibly citing a dramatic surge in voluntary downloads as the reason, it is clear that the all-round flak and criticism had forced the authorities to make a climbdown. The episode must serve as a cautionary tale for the governments ready to resort to snooping at the drop of a hat. On December 1, the Union Ministry of Communications directed smartphone makers to pre-install ‘Sanchar Saathi’ on all new devices, ensuring the app is visible and functional from first boot. Devices already manufactured or already in circulation must receive the app via software updates, with manufacturers given 90 days to comply and 120 days to submit formal adherence reports. Following widespread protests from the opposition parties and digital privacy activists, Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia sought to assure that the government’s directive was ‘misconstrued’ and that nowhere did it say that the user cannot delete the app. The initiative itself, launched in May 2023, is presented by the government as a consumer-protection measure; a tool to verify whether a device’s International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) is genuine, to block cloned or blacklisted identifiers, to report stolen phones, and to flag potential telecom fraud.

On paper, this may appear as a well-intended anti-fraud initiative, but a closer look reveals a disturbing potential for privacy invasion and state surveillance. A compulsory state-owned software layer embedded deep into a user’s phone raises profound concerns about privacy, consent, and expanding surveillance power. The government’s increased push for sovereign control over all forms of electronic infrastructure has already curtailed individual freedoms in the country. The Ministry’s order represented yet another step towards greater government control. The Sanchar Saathi app seeks to enforce data collection by binding a phone’s IMEI number with the SIM number. The app could potentially help reduce some cyber frauds originating from domestic cell phone numbers, but it comes with a huge cost of further erosion of individual privacy. It also sets a dangerous precedent, allowing the government to make similar demands in the future and would give it powerful visibility into personal devices. Experience shows that what starts as a voluntary offer can quickly become mandatory. Global tech giants like Apple and Google, which provide the most popular operating systems, iOS and Android, led the push back on the government’s order. Besides privacy and surveillance issues, manufacturers also cite operational challenges as mandatory installation of such apps may require them to customise their Operating Systems for India.

---