New Delhi, Dec 2 (NationPress) Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra sharply criticized the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on Tuesday for its controversial decision mandating the pre-installation of the Sanchar Saathi App on all newly sold mobile phones, deeming it a breach of privacy rights and a move towards an authoritarian regime.

This announcement follows the DoT's directive that compels all mobile phone manufacturers and importers to ensure that the app is embedded in new devices within a 90-day timeframe.

While the Sanchar Saathi platform aims to assist users in reporting mobile fraud, blocking lost devices, and verifying SIM records, it has raised significant privacy and surveillance issues among the populace.

In response, Priyanka Gandhi stated to reporters, “It’s a snooping app. It’s absurd. Citizens deserve privacy. This isn’t merely about intercepting phone conversations; they are transforming this nation into a dictatorship in every conceivable way.”

She further accused the government of undermining democratic practices.

“You wonder why Parliament isn’t functioning. It’s because they are obstructing it. Blaming the Opposition is easy, but they are stifling healthy discussions. That is not democracy. For democracy to thrive, open dialogues must be permitted,” she asserted.

She highlighted the thin line between simplifying fraud reporting and monitoring every action of citizens on their devices. “Yes, cybersecurity is crucial, but that does not warrant intrusion into every citizen’s device,” she added.

Other leaders from Congress echoed her sentiments. MP Imran Masood raised concerns about the government's intentions, asking, “Where are you leading the country? Are we emulating North Korea? Will the government dictate how we live, eat, or even style our hair? This is an invasion of personal privacy.”

Congress spokesperson Surendra Rajput called for transparency. “If the government insists on making the Sanchar Saathi app mandatory, it must first clarify its purpose, advantages, and restrictions. Will it function as spyware? Does it track citizens? Until there is transparency, the government should not enforce the app by coercion,” he stated.

On Monday, the Centre announced that to protect consumers from purchasing counterfeit products, mobile phone manufacturers and importers must ensure that the Sanchar Saathi mobile application is pre-installed on all new devices intended for the Indian market.

This would facilitate easier reporting of telecom resource misuse and bolster the effectiveness of the Sanchar Saathi initiative.

According to guidelines released on November 28, mobile manufacturers and importers must ensure that the pre-installed Sanchar Saathi app is easily visible and accessible to users upon first use or device setup, and its functionalities must remain fully operational.

Moreover, all devices already manufactured and present in sales channels in India will require manufacturers and importers to push the app through software updates.

Companies are mandated to complete this implementation within 90 days and provide a report within 120 days.

The DoT is spearheading the Sanchar Saathi initiative to combat the misuse of telecom resources for cyber fraud and to ensure the integrity of telecom cybersecurity.

The department has developed both the Sanchar Saathi portal and app, allowing citizens to verify their mobile handset's legitimacy via the IMEI number and offering additional features like reporting suspected fraud, lost or stolen mobile devices, and checking mobile connections registered in their name, along with trusted contact details for banks and financial institutions.

In a separate announcement, the DoT indicated that it has noticed that some app-based communication services utilizing Indian mobile numbers for customer identification or service delivery permit users to access their services without having the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) present in the device where those services operate.

This capability has been exploited to commit cyber fraud, particularly by operations based outside the country.

The issue of SIM binding in messaging applications and its misuse has been highlighted by various governmental bodies and agencies, prompting discussions within an inter-ministerial group.

The DoT has engaged in multiple discussions with major app-based communication service providers regarding the feasibility and significance of this issue. Notable platforms involved include WhatsApp, Telegram, Snapchat, Arattai, Sharechat, Josh, Jiochat, and Signal.