India is working on a regulation that could mandate in-depth testing and potential teardown of handsets to make sure that the devices and apps installed on them aren’t snooping on device users in India. ALSO READ: Xiaomi Phones Allegedly Censoring Anti-China Content, Activating Remote Censorship Also Read: Even After Ban, Chinese Apps Are Dominating Indian Market By Hiding Their Roots As reported first by ET MeitY is working on a list of trusted sources and trusted companies for telecom equipment and networking products to check alleged cyber snooping. According to people involved in the discussions, the MeitY is teaming up with the National Technical Research Organization and other government bodies to explore possibilities of framing such a regulation. They added that industry bodies are also coordinating with the PMO and Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade and other bodies. According to experts, this move could ensure keeping Chinese telecom giants like ZTE and Huawei away from sensitive areas of telecom networks. According to one of the individuals involved in initial consultations with the government, even though the law would cover the entire industry, it would keep special provisions for companies from nations that share borders with India. Also Read: Thousands Of Indians Still Use Chinese Apps With VPN, Despite Govt Ban Another consultant, who wished to remain anonymous stated, “The government doesn’t want to scare companies but needs to ensure that there are no security-related issues. For security teardown, the Chinese should not have a problem if they think their products are clean.” Also Read: Chinese Apps Ban: What It Means For India, And Will It Even Work? People familiar with the matter have also revealed that companies are being asked to show their bill of materials, as well as a thorough analysis, is being done on where the components are being sourced for the devices. Even preinstalled apps on the phones would be evaluated. The nature of these apps would be looked into, as well as why these apps come pre-installed and if they share any personal information. They would also see if the software/app is hard installed and whether it can be removed or uninstalled. Are you afraid of alleged cyber snooping on Chinese smartphones? Let us know in the comments below, and keep reading Indiatimes.com for the latest science and technology news and updates.
