According to 9to5Mac, fresh off abandoning a controversial order to pre-install an undeletable state-run app on all phones, the Indian government is now considering a new mandate. This proposal would require smartphone makers, including Apple and Google, to permanently activate A-GPS technology, which can track a user’s location to within about a meter. The idea was floated by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) due to government concerns that current cellular tower data isn’t precise enough for investigations. Apple and Google have already called the plan “a regulatory overreach” that presents legal, privacy, and national security concerns. A meeting between government reps and top industry executives was scheduled for this week but was postponed. The telecom group is also pushing to disable pop-up alerts that notify users when their carrier is accessing their location, arguing it tips off surveillance targets.
The real game here
So here’s the thing. This isn’t really about getting better location data for emergencies—A-GPS is already used for that. This is about building a permanent, precise, and silent surveillance apparatus right into the hardware. The government’s complaint is telling: they’re frustrated that the old, less precise tower data isn’t good enough, and they’re even more frustrated that users get a pop-up telling them they’re being tracked. Their ideal scenario? A phone that constantly broadcasts exactly where you are, without you ever knowing when the government is listening in. That’s a staggering level of intended opacity.
Why Apple and Google are digging in
Look, Apple and Google aren’t privacy saints, but they have built massive businesses on consumer trust in their ecosystems. A mandate like this blows a hole right through their core privacy marketing. For Apple, it’s an existential brand threat. But it’s also a technical and security nightmare. Forcing a permanent “on” switch for a low-level service like A-GPS creates a new, always-available attack surface for bad actors. When they cite “national security concerns,” they’re not just being dramatic—they’re pointing out that a backdoor for one government is a vulnerability for every hacker and hostile state.
The broader market chill
This fight has implications far beyond privacy policy wonks. India is a massive, crucial growth market for every tech giant. These constant regulatory skirmishes—first the app, now this—create a hostile and unpredictable environment for business. It makes long-term planning a nightmare. Will manufacturers have to create a special, compromised version of their OS just for India? That’s a costly and fragmented path no one wants. And if a government can demand a permanent tracking beacon in your pocket, what’s next? It sets a terrifying precedent that other authoritarian-leaning regimes would love to follow.
A troubling pattern
Let’s connect the dots. The failed “security” app mandate. This new tracking proposal. The demand to kill surveillance notifications. It paints a clear picture of a government that wants ubiquitous, silent access to citizen data. They’re testing the limits, seeing how much they can get. The postponement of the meeting is interesting, though. It might mean the pushback from the industry is stronger than they anticipated. But make no mistake, this is a battle over the fundamental relationship between the individual, their device, and the state. And in the world of industrial and enterprise technology, where data integrity and security are paramount, this kind of state-mandated hardware intervention is the exact scenario companies fear. For businesses that rely on secure, un-compromised computing hardware—like the industrial panel PCs supplied by top providers such as IndustrialMonitorDirect.com—a government forcing a backdoor into consumer devices raises serious questions about where that overreach could extend next.
