Swap app mandates for digital literacy

WHY IN NEWS ?

• The Union government withdrew its directive to mandatorily preload the ‘Sanchar Saathi’ app on every new smartphone after:
  • Civil society backlash
  • Political opposition
  • Objections from digital rights groups
• The controversy sits at the intersection of:
  • Exploding cyber fraud
  • Expanding state surveillance capacity
  • Right to privacy jurisprudence

Relevance

GS Paper II – Polity & Governance

• Right to Privacy under Article 21 and Puttaswamy doctrine
• Limits of executive power without statutory backing
• Surveillance vs civil liberties
• Citizen–State trust in digital governance

GS Paper III – Internal Security & Cybersecurity

• Cyber fraud ecosystem and telecom security
• Digital arrest scams, OTP frauds, financial cybercrime
• Platform regulation and behavioural cybersecurity

GS Paper IV – Ethics in Public Administration

• Informed consent and digital coercion
• Surveillance ethics vs public safety
• Technological paternalism vs citizen autonomy

WHAT IS SANCHAR SAATHI?

• A telecom safety platform for:
  • Reporting spam and fraud
  • Blocking lost/stolen devices
  • Checking mobile number misuse
• Operates through:
  • Web portals
  • SMS
  • USSD codes
• Linked with the Central Equipment Identity Register (CEIR) system.

WHAT DID THE WITHDRAWN DIRECTIVE REQUIRE?

• Mandatory pre-installation on all new smartphones
• App:
  • Could not be uninstalled
  • Was visible on first boot
  • Would receive over-the-air updates
  • Reportedly sought access to:
    • Phone
    • SMS
    • Location
• Effect:
  • Transformed a voluntary safety tool into a system-level state surveillance interface

CONSTITUTIONAL TEST: K.S. PUTTASWAMY (2017)

Under K.S. Puttaswamy vs Union of India, any restriction on privacy must pass:

1. Legality – Backed by law
2. Necessity – No less intrusive alternative
3. Proportionality – Least restrictive method

Why the directive failed:

• Necessity failed:
  • Same objectives already achieved via:
    • Sanchar Saathi portals
    • USSD codes
    • SMS reporting
    • 1909 spam helpline
• Proportionality failed:
  • Permanent background access ≫ limited, on-demand verification
• Legality weak:
  • No detailed parliamentary statute authorising forced installation

CYBER FRAUD CONTEXT: SCALE OF THE PROBLEM

• Interpol estimate (2023):
  • $1 trillion global loss due to online financial fraud
• India witnessing growth in:
  • “Digital arrest” scams
  • Investment frauds
  • OTP-based account takeovers

Key constitutional principle:

• “Serious problem” ≠ automatic justification for mass surveillance

EXISTING INDIAN ANTI-FRAUD ECOSYSTEM (ALREADY IN PLACE)

• Sanchar Saathi + CEIR portals
• Telecom Regulatory Authority of India ‘DND’ app
• National 1909 short code for spam/fraud

Privacy Warning from DND Experience:

• Earlier versions required access to:
  • Call logs
  • SMS data
• Apple blocked it for violating privacy safeguards.
• Only after system-level redesign was limited access allowed.
• Sanchar Saathi mandate repeated this mistake at a much larger scale.

CYBERSECURITY RISK OF “PRIVILEGED APPS”

• A privileged, non-removable app:
  • Becomes a high-value target for hackers
  • If compromised:
    • Enables lateral movement across millions of devices
• Cybersecurity research consensus:
  • Widely deployed system components = single-point failure risks

SURVEILLANCE STATE VS BEHAVIOURAL CYBERSECURITY

• Digital scams succeed through:
  • Fear
  • False authority
  • Psychological manipulation
• Pure technological surveillance:
  • Does not eliminate human vulnerability
  • Risks normalising permanent monitoring

Kenya Study (2023):

• Generic scam warnings:
  • Did not improve scam detection ability
• Behaviour change must be:
  • Continuous
  • Culturally adapted
  • Behaviour-specific

INDIA’S EXISTING BEHAVIOURAL CYBER AWARENESS MODELS

• Reserve Bank of India e-BAAT outreach
• ‘RBI Kehta Hai’ mass media safety campaign
• Chhattisgarh cybersecurity awareness vans
• Telangana ‘Fraud Ka Full Stop’ campaign
  • Reported 8% decline in cybercrime
• Police-bank mobile kiosks in:
  • Tiruchi, Tamil Nadu
  • Other urban centres

CORE GOVERNANCE ISSUE

• Shift from:
  • “What’s there to hide?”
    to
  • “What’s there to see — and how is it being used?”
• Citizens treated as:
  • Passive surveillance subjects
    Instead of:
  • Active cybersecurity participants

POLICY WAY FORWARD: THREE-PILLAR MODEL

1. Platform & Network Regulation

• Mandatory obligations on:
  • Telecom firms
  • Banks
  • FinTech platforms
• For:
  • Pattern detection
  • Real-time fraud blocking
  • Large-value transaction traceability

2. Robust Citizen Reporting & Redress

• Seamless:
  • 1930 helpline
  • App-based reporting
  • Time-bound grievance disposal

3. Sustained Digital Public Education

• Not slogan-based
• Must be:
  • Continuous
  • Local-language
  • Behaviour-specific
  • Community-led

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