Hisham Sarwar
India’s regulatory agency for communication tech is urging Apple to allow them an anti-spam app to be installed on iPhones. This according to Apple is harming the company’s efforts to sell more products in the country, Bloomberg reports .
The basic purpose of this spam app is to allow people to share the spam call and text messages log with the agency. The app is designed that uses the data to alert the mobile operators to block such spammers. Apple does not agree to install this app because this according to the company violates the privacy policy. The agency has held a dozen meetings with the company up till now but Apple is not agreeing to install the app. the company is concerned about the safety of the user’s information.
This move may not be good for the Apple as the company wants to sell iPhones in the country’s market. Apple’s products are widely available in India through third-party retailers. Now the company has begun producing devices in the country itself and is aiming to launch its own stores there.
The agency, however, is seeking public and stake holders’ opinions on consultative paper on users’ control over their personal information. The agency also states that Apple is not being asked to violate any of its privacy policy but no company can be allowed to become the guardian of users’ information. According to Sewek Sharma, the chairman of a Delhi-based telecom regulator, the problem of who controls users’ information is getting serious and that’s because Apple is not ready to revise its policy.
According to TNW, Apple has not responded to the requests of the agency for now.
