‘Partner’ of communication or ‘spying’ on the public… these allegations are not on anyone else but on the government itself, after which the Modi government is on the backfoot. The name of the app due to which this whole controversy arose is ‘Sanchar Sathi’. There was an uproar in Parliament regarding this on Tuesday.
In fact, on November 28, the Central Government had sent an instruction to all smartphone manufacturing companies, in which it was said that now all smartphones will be sold only after installing the Sanchar Sathi app. Meaning, the government app will be pre-installed in the new phones that will be made.
The government has given 90 days time to all the companies to follow this instruction. But as soon as Wi-Fi came into politics, the war on the communication partner started. The opposition alleges that the government is preparing to spy on people through this app.
Communication’s ‘companion’ or public’s ‘spying’
But is there really a risk of your personal information being stolen through the Sanchar Sathi app or is there a risk of espionage? After the allegations of the opposition, signals of concern have started rising in the minds of the common man. The reason for this is a line written in the instructions. The government has told the mobile companies that the new phones that will be manufactured will already have the Sanchar Sathi app installed, while the old phones will have the Sanchar Sathi app installed through software update.
The news also came that as per the government instructions, users will not be able to delete the app nor can the Sanchar Sathi app be disabled in any way. It is from here that questions arise on the government’s intentions as to how it can be mandatory to have any app in your or our mobile. The entire force of the opposition pounced on the government regarding this question.
Arguments related to freedom of expression started being given, the matter escalated so much that the Center had to give clarification. Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said that this app does not enable spying or call monitoring. You can activate or deactivate it as per your wish. If you don’t want a communication partner, you can delete it. This is optional. This is about customer safety. I want to clear up all the misunderstandings. It is our duty to tell this app to everyone. It depends on the user to keep it on his device or not. It can be deleted from the mobile phone like any other app.
Government and opposition face to face on communication app
When the opposition alleged that we cannot be spied on through an app, the government replied that the allegations of spying are wrong. When Congress leader Karti Chidambaram called Sanchar Sathi app as Pegasus Plus, the government said that this mobile app is beneficial for the people. While Priyanka Gandhi called it an attack on people’s privacy, Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said that the Sanchar Sathi app will protect people from fraud.
While Priyanka alleged that the government is monitoring people, the government also clarified on the claim that the app is mandatory and said that users can also delete the Sanchar Sathi app from their mobile. The government also said that people will have the option to activate and deactivate this app. But to corner the Modi government, the opposition brought a copy of the instructions that were sent to the mobile companies.
In the last line of paragraph B of its seventh point, it is written that the app cannot be stopped from working. But now the government is saying that users will also have the option to delete the app. Earlier it was also written that Sanchar Sathi app cannot be disabled but now the government has replied that this app will not be mandatory for any users.
Another form of communication companion app Pegasus
Now either the lines written in the copy of the instructions are correct or the statement of the Union Minister. Overall, the political signals emanating from this Sanchar Saathi controversy are very strong. The opposition is saying that the Sanchar Sathi app is actually another form of Pegasus, which the government will use for spying, so it is important to understand the difference between the two.
- Pegasus is a spy software developed by the Israeli company NSO Group, while according to the government, Sanchar Saathi is a cyber security tool.
- Pegasus can access the user’s phone without consent, whereas Sanchar Saathi has the option of requiring user consent.
- Pegasus does not have to be downloaded. If the spy wants, this software can enter your phone without your consent, whereas the government says that spying cannot be done through Sanchar Sathi app.
- There is no need to click any link or download an app for spying with Pegasus. Whereas an app named Sanchar Sathi is currently available on the Play Store.
However, the controversy here was only about how the government can force an app to be kept in the mobile, on which clarification has come. The government says that the Sanchar Sathi app has been designed for cyber security. This is also very effective in protecting common people from telecom fraud.
Apple objects to this instruction of the Central Government
On the other hand, Apple has objection to this instruction of the Central Government. Reuters report states that Apple’s communication partner will not accept this decision. The company will soon send a reply to the government that it does not follow such decisions anywhere in the world. Due to security reasons, Apple is holding back from accepting the instructions because it believes that it poses a threat to the privacy and security of the company’s iOS ecosystem. However, no official statement has come from Apple itself yet. According to Reuters, other companies are also reviewing it now. After this she will send her reply to the government. There are about 1 crore 40 lakh iPhone users in India.
Bureau Report, TV9 Bharatvarsha
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