Apple May Have to Enable Always-On GPS in India

[surferfb]

Just like in all other authoritarian states?
Of course they will give in.

There is a power that is greater than that. Greater than the protests of the fans. Greater than the cries of persecuted citizens.

The complaints of shareholders when profits fall because the future second-largest market in the world is being abandoned...

I get where you’re coming from, but for what it’s worth, Apple successfully pushed back on India asking for something authoritarian last week.

India revokes order to preload cybersecurity app on smartphones after outcry

Politicians, privacy advocates and global tech companies raised an outcry over surveillance fears.

www.reuters.com

The government also found itself at odds with phone manufacturers, as Apple and Samsung had plans to not comply with the directive, sources said.

 

[code-m]

Time to go back to the days prior to mobile phone or just keep your phone at home and if it’s possible to use a cellular enabled Apple Watch for those basic requirements.

 

[Plutonius]

What's wrong with the user deciding if they want the GPS on or not ?

 

[Enlightened Doggo]

India taking a hard authoritarian turn. Hopefully Apple doesn't comply.

With Modi at the helm authoritarianism is the default outcome.

 

[8281]

Did you miss where the previous admin was censoring people on social media and elsewhere by pressuring the companies? Shutting people out of the financial system? Trying to create a "misinformation board" etc? Right out of 1984 and Brave New World.

The Biden admin was not directly censoring people online, they were speaking with social media firms about misinformation. You can disagree with that, although of course the government has an interest in preventing misinformation during a pandemic. Did you miss the part where Trump threatens private firms with tariffs unless they give him golden shares? Or the crypto grift that’s in the billions, or the masked agents who refuse to identify themselves, or the 400 million dollar 747, or the billions from the Saudis, or saying his political opponents should be jailed, or the big lie about the election? I’m sure I’ve missed some others…

 

[whatnot]

Did you miss where the previous admin was censoring people on social media and elsewhere by pressuring the companies?

did you miss that all the cranks and nazis, previously banned from Twitter, are suddenly all back? Brave New World indeed.

 

[Corefile]

The Brits didn't see this one coming so will be scrambling to catch up with Communist India.

 

[SunMac]

The Biden admin was not directly censoring people online, they were speaking with social media firms about misinformation. You can disagree with that, although of course the government has an interest in preventing misinformation during a pandemic. Did you miss the part where Trump threatens private firms with tariffs unless they give him golden shares? Or the crypto grift that’s in the billions, or the masked agents who refuse to identify themselves, or the 400 million dollar 747, or the billions from the Saudis, or saying his political opponents should be jailed, or the big lie about the election? I’m sure I’ve missed some others…

Biden administration directly silenced people online. We don't need misinformation police. and guess what? They were masked!! ICE agents are masked because domestic liberal terrorism is at an all time high in the US.

All these people crying "authoritarianism!" for leaders just purely protecting their own citizens from actual physical threats. Meanwhile their people outright attack us with their own misinformation all over the internet as well promoting terrorism against all those who oppose.

 

[Channan]

Doesn't India famously have lots of low end phones? Wouldn't this kill the battery like immediately?

This wouldn't make GPS always active. It would just make it where GPS cannot be disabled so if they wanted to track you with GPS, they could.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

India taking a hard authoritarian turn. Hopefully Apple doesn't comply.

It is not Apple's choice; Apple has to follow the law. If the current USA administration maintains its power past 2026 expect the authoritarian shift in the USA to lead to similar onerous regulations in the USA.

 

[MallardDuck]

Between India and the UK (let alone China), it's pretty clear that Orwell was right, just a few decades off.

First they did it for the children, then the seniors, then the handicapped, then the poor, and by the time they were done, they'd done it for everyone...and no one was left to object.

Or put it another way, for those trying the 'if you have nothing to hide' argument, I'll buy that when you're willing to post nude pictures of yourself holding a sign with your phone number, address, birthday, full browser history, medical records, and social security number to twitter and facebook (along with your passwords!) standing in front of your open, unlocked door, and all your money in cash stacked on the porch.

 

[paradox00]

They're both already there.

Canada de-banked the truckers from a few years ago. Non-violent protesting is a no-go in Canada.

Ask the citizens in Ottawa if blaring air horns outside your window at all hours of the day/night for weeks on end is non-violent, or if the guns and body armour seized from the Alberta convey were intended for peaceful purposes? I don't know the specifics of your claim of de-banking, but do know that the past convoy movement and current Alberta separatist movement has been supported by a lot of foreign money that shouldn't have a say in how our Country is run.

If I were to talk about non-violent protesting being suppressed, I would have pointed to the pro-gaza/anti-genocide protests on university campuses instead of the political movement that largely thinks Alberta's budding authoritarian Premier (who loves the notwithstanding clause) isn't going far enough.

 

[rorschach]

Beyond the authoritarian privacy nightmare this is going to impact everybody’s day to day for the worse, even the “I have nothing to hide” types. Forcing your phone to constantly do one of the most battery intensive things it can do? Those batteries are going to be hot, in an already hot, humid country? They’re going to be ruined so much faster, causing your already compromised battery life to dwindle further and further, batteries will have to be replaced sooner causing a larger toll on the environment.

And the average user will blame Apple for it

 

[johnsawyercjs]

This wouldn't make GPS always active. It would just make it where GPS cannot be disabled so if they wanted to track you with GPS, they could.

The article and the Indian government's proposal specifically say that it would require GPS to always remain active. If GPS can't be disabled by the user, then that means it's always on, because the Indian government's investigators wouldn't somehow have the ability to turn on GPS on an individual person's phone remotely only when they want to.

 

[segfaultdotorg]

Shame on Indiana!

 

[BGPL]

Please tell me you aren't insinuating that the US is going to be some lone bastion of privacy and rights?

You obviously don't stay up on current events or you need to diversify your media sources, the US is shaping up to be one of the last holding their ground on free speech. You should really travel outside of whatever country you're in and get some perspective on how well Americans have it on free speech and surveillance.

 

[AlanBeyond]

What is going on with India...

They've been overtly closer to Russia and China lately economically and now apparently politically.

From a technical perspective alone this seems like a bad idea. Doesn't India famously have lots of low end phones? Wouldn't this kill the battery like immediately? Or do they already have some more efficient method to spy on Android phones and this is only for iPhone...

Even China and Russia didn't require this for Apple, while the UK asked apple to share iCloud key. I doubted that you think the UK is leaning to Russia and China.

 

[insoft.uk]

No way that Apple or anyone could force it to be enabled at all times, if a user wanted to disable it then they will, even if it means opening the phone up to sever the GPS connection in some fashion or ground the GPS antenna.

 

[turbineseaplane]

No way that Apple or anyone could force it to be enabled at all times, if a user wanted to disable it then they will, even if it means opening the phone up to sever the GPS connection in some fashion or ground the GPS antenna.

They could integrate it in a way where the phone wouldn't work if the GPS wasn't working/disabled.

 

[ForkHandles]

You obviously don't stay up on current events or you need to diversify your media sources, the US is shaping up to be one of the last holding their ground on free speech. You should really travel outside of whatever country you're in and get some perspective on how well Americans have it on free speech and surveillance.

You’ve heard of the Patriot Act 2001 surely. Tell me you didn’t write this after reading about the act?

 

[ForkHandles]

I’m confused. India has its own navigation system NavIC why would it insist on using GPS?

Or are we just using GPS as a descriptor of the technology rather than a brand name for the American navigation system.

Out in fact is gps the only system iPhone can use?

 

[delsoul]

Did India make a deal with China to let CCP members run their government? India sure has been on a power trip lately with monitoring every aspect of its population

 

[Cubytus]

Doesn't seem many here remember the Snowden revelations. Even then, it was only a snapshot of what was possible with 2013 technology.

 

[bLackjackj]

Wouldn't this kill the battery like immediately?

No, Lol..GPS is already enabled on all phones for FindMy.

 

[God of Biscuits]

If Apple complies, they'll be the ones ON the screen from the 1984 video.