In This Article:
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India wants phone makers to allow removal of pre-installed apps
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Looking to mandate screening of major operating system updates
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India government worried about potential data abuse by apps
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Industry executives worry new rules could prolong launches
(Updating March 14 story on March 15 to add comments from India's deputy IT minister in paragraphs 6-8)
By Munsif Vengattil and Aditya Kalra
NEW DELHI, March 14 (Reuters) - India plans to force smartphone makers to allow removal of pre-installed apps and mandate screening of major operating system updates under proposed new security rules, according to two people and a government document seen by Reuters.
The plan for new rules, details of which have not been previously reported, could extend launch timelines in the world's No.2 smartphone market and lead to losses in business from pre-installed apps for players including Samsung , Xiaomi, Vivo, and Apple.
India's IT ministry is considering these rules amid concerns about spying and abuse of user data, said a senior government official, one of the two people who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity as the information is not yet public.
"Pre-installed apps can be a weak security point and we want to ensure no foreign nations, including China, are exploiting it. It's a matter of national security," the official added.
Chinese manufacturers account for more than half of all smartphone sales in India.
India's minister for state for IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, however, said the news was "plain wrong" and that "there is no "security testing" or "crackdown" as story suggests".
He added, in a post on Twitter, that there was an ongoing consultation between the government and the industry.
He did not elaborate.
India has ramped up scrutiny of Chinese businesses since a 2020 border clash between the neighbours, banning more than 300 Chinese apps, including TikTok. It has also intensified scrutiny of investments by Chinese firms.
Globally too, many nations have imposed restrictions on the use of technology from Chinese firms like Huawei and Hikvision on fears Beijing could use them to spy on foreign citizens. China denies these allegations.
Currently, most smartphones come with pre-installed apps that cannot be deleted, such as Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi's app store GetApps, Samsung's payment app Samsung Pay mini and iPhone maker Apple's browser Safari.
Under the new rules, smartphone makers will have to provide an uninstall option and new models will be checked for compliance by a lab authorized by the Bureau of Indian Standards agency, the two people with knowledge of the plan said.