Major tech giants—Apple, Google, and Samsung—are reportedly raising strong objections to a new proposal from the Indian government that would require smartphones to have continuous, always-on location tracking enabled.
The draft proposal, aimed at strengthening emergency response and public safety, would mandate that all smartphones sold in India transmit real-time location data to authorities during specific situations, such as distress calls or disasters. However, the companies argue that such a requirement could create serious privacy, security, and technical challenges.
According to industry sources, the manufacturers have informed Indian regulators that always-on tracking could compromise user privacy by enabling constant monitoring, potentially exposing sensitive location data. They also highlight that forcing continuous GPS activity would reduce battery life and affect overall device performance.
