Govt pulls plug on Sanchar Saathi
NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday withdrew the order mandating pre-installation of cyber security app Sanchar Saathi on smartphones by the manufacturers.
The rollback followed two days of protests from Opposition leaders and civil activists over concerns the pre-installation directive violates privacy rights.
The order to manufacturers - including American technology giant Apple, which was reportedly prepping a legal challenge - was withdrawn because the “the number of users who have downloaded the app (over six lakh in 24 hours and 1.4 crore users overall) has been increasing rapidly”. The mandate to pre-install “was meant to accelerate this process”.
The statement also confirmed what Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Tuesday and repeated in Parliament Wednesday - the app can be deleted.
“The government, with an intent to provide access to cybersecurity to all citizens, mandated pre-installation of Sanchar Saathi app on all smartphones. The app is secure and meant to help citizens from bad actors in the cyber world. There is no other function other than protecting users... and they can remove the app...”
Earlier in the day, Scindia told the Lok Sabha, “Snooping is neither possible nor will it happen with the Sanchar Saathi app. And I can delete it like any other app... as every citizen has this right in a democracy. We took this step to make it accessible to all.”
“The success of the app is based on public participation. But now, based on feedback from the public, we are ready to bring a change in the order,” the minister leader said.
With the portal and the app, 26 lakh stolen handsets have been traced, 7 lakh stolen handsets have been returned to the consumers, 41 lakh mobile connections have been disconnected and 6 lakh frauds have been blocked, the minister said.
Amid the Sanchar Saathi application row, the Congress accused the BJP-led government of “brazenly snooping” on citizens and giving a deceptive clarification when caught “red-handed”.
The Opposition party categorically rejected what it claimed was “authoritarian overreach”.
Congress MPs Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Karti Chidambaram were among those to express concerns. “It is ridiculous. This isn’t just about snooping on telephones - overall, they are turning this country into a dictatorship,” Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, while Chidambaram said: “This has been done in Russia and North Korea (and) now they want to snoop on our private photos and videos.”
Other opposition leaders also expressed their ire: Priyanka Chaturvedi from the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, called it “another BIG BOSS surveillance moment”.
Congress’ media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said the BJP government has been “brazenly snooping” on citizens, but when caught “red-handed” this time, it attempted to mislead the entire nation with a “false and deceptive” clarification.
“Their Communications Minister confidently claimed that the Sanchar Saathi app can be deleted, a statement that collapses instantly under the weight of the government’s own direction, where Section 7(b) categorically states that the pre-installed app cannot be removed, nor can any of its ‘functionalities be disabled or restricted’,” Khera said at a press conference here.
“This is not a clarification; it is a blatant lie, an attempt to cover up an unconstitutional order by feeding misinformation to 140 crore Indians. When a government begins to lie about its own surveillance machinery, it exposes not just incompetence, but dangerous authoritarian intent,” the Congress leader said.
Khera said that in the BJP’s dictionary, the meaning of IT is no longer ‘information technology’ but it stands for ‘identity theft’.
“The recent diktat forcing all smartphone manufacturers and importers to pre-install the Sanchar Saathi app on every new device is a blatant assault on the Fundamental Right to Privacy and a chilling attempt to normalise mass surveillance,” Khera alleged.
The government has said it is to help people manage their digital identities, report suspicious activity, and safeguard their devices, as also offer educational material on telecom safety and cyber risks.
The Department of Telecom said that it is removing the order mandating installation of the Sanchar Saathi app, following a 10-fold jump in voluntary app downloads in just one day.
“The number of users has been increasing rapidly, and the mandate to install the app was meant to accelerate this process and make the app available to less aware citizens easily.
“Just in last one day, 6 lakh citizens have registered for downloading the app, which is a 10 fold increase in its uptake. Given Sanchar Saathi’s increasing acceptance, the Government has decided not to make the pre-installation mandatory for mobile manufacturers,” the DoT said in a statement.
