The government refuted a report on Sunday that claimed “India proposes forcing smartphone makers to give source code” as part of a security overhaul.
What was claimed?
A news report by Reuters had claimed that India proposes requiring smartphone makers to share source code with the government and make several software changes as part of a raft of security measures.
The report further claimed that the move led to behind-the-scenes opposition from giants like Apple and Samsung.
The Reuters report quoted four people familiar with the discussions and a review of “confidential government and industry documents” to make the claim.
Notably, smartphone makers closely guard their source code. Apple declined China's request for source code between 2014 and 2016, and US law enforcement has also tried and failed to get it.
PIB fact-checks
The Centre's PIB fact-checked the Reuters report and said, “The Government of India has NOT proposed any measure to force smartphone manufacturers to share their source code.”
It added that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had initiated consultations with stakeholders to develop the most suitable regulatory framework for mobile security.
“This is a part of regular and routine consultations with the industry for any safety or security standards. Once a stakeholder consultation is done, then various aspects of security standards are discussed with the industry,” the government said.
It said, “No final regulations have been framed, and any future framework will be formulated only after due consultations.”
Meanwhile, mobile phone manufacturing players also told news agency PTI that the move is just a routine consultation between the government and the industry.
Sources told PTI that the IT ministry is holding discussions with stakeholders under the Indian Telecom Security Assurance Requirements (ITSAR), which was framed by the National Centre for Communication Security (NCCS) under the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).
ITSAR broadly covers safety standards for telecom network gear, including those related to software updates and the source code of communication devices.
“Based on the ITSAR standard, Meity has been authorised to handle safety issues related to mobile phones, and there is a smooth conversation going on with industry players. The process has just started, and there is no mandate that the government has issued or is pressing for,” one of the sources told PTI.
Apple, South Korea's Samsung, Google, China's Xiaomi, and MAIT, the Indian industry group representing these firms, did not respond to PTI's requests for comment.
