The Centre’s decision to revoke the directive by the Department of Telecommunication to smartphone makers to pre-install Sanchar Saathi, a cybersecurity app, on mobile phones is welcome. The move came after international companies, such as Apple and Google, refused to comply with the notification. Since the beginning, there was something fishy about the government’s directive that stated apps must be preloaded, visible at first use and that its “functionalities must not be incapacitated or restricted.” This aroused doubt in political, legal and technological circles. Questions were raised about digital rights and state overreach. Some critics even compared the app with Pegasus, the Israeli military-grade spyware which was allegedly used by the government to target its opponents in recent years. Unsurprisingly, the organisation of protection for privacy is far from ideal as the Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, which were notified two years after the passage of the legislation on data protection, still offer the State disproportionate powers when it comes to accessing personal data, thereby undermining privacy. India needs a comprehensive, informed, collective engagement with sacrosanct privacy as a right. Till then, State attempts at snooping will continue.
