The Source Code Standoff: India’s New Security Rules Alarm Apple and Samsung

A formidable confrontation is brewing in India between the state and preeminent smartphone manufacturers. The nation’s authorities are contemplating stringent new security mandates for mobile devices, which have already provoked sharp, albeit largely unspoken, resentment from titans such as Apple and Samsung.

According to the Indian government’s initiative, smartphone architects may be compelled to relinquish the proprietary source code of their devices and implement specific software modifications. This proposal encompasses a suite of 83 security standards, which further dictates a mandatory notification to the authorities regarding significant software updates. Industry representatives contend that such requirements are globally unprecedented and pose a severe risk of exposing guarded trade secrets. These revelations emerged from sources familiar with the deliberations and internal documents scrutinized by Reuters.

The strategy is a cornerstone of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policy, designed to fortify the protection of user data amidst a surge in online fraud and information breaches. India currently stands as the world’s second-largest smartphone market, boasting an ecosystem of approximately 750 million devices. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has asserted its willingness to consider the legitimate apprehensions of the business sector with transparency, urging stakeholders to eschew premature conclusions.

Following the dissemination of the Reuters report, the ministry specifically emphasized that its consultations with corporations are intended to cultivate a resilient and appropriate regulatory framework for mobile security. Nevertheless, the department refuted the allegation that it intends to demand source code from manufacturers, though it remained elusive as to how this denial reconciles with the documents currently under discussion.