Govt Calls Demand for Smartphone OS Source Code Fake, Says Consulting Stakeholders

A report on Sunday claimed that the Government proposed new smartphone security requirements, in which it has asked that original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) share the source code of the device's operating system (OS). A Government fact-checker has now labelled the report as fake, claiming that no such measure was mentioned in the first place. Additionally, it is said that Indian lawmakers are currently in the process of devising new smartphone security frameworks by consulting with stakeholders, and that no final regulations have been framed.

Government Says It Never Asked for Smartphones' Source Code

In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), the official handle of PIB Fact Check said, “A news report by @Reuters claims that India proposes forcing smartphone manufacturers to share their source code as part of a security overhaul. This claim is #Fake.” The post mentioned that the Government has not proposed any measures to force OEMs to share their source code.

Additionally, it added that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has currently started the process of consulting stakeholders to develop the “most appropriate regulatory framework for mobile security.” Calling the consultation “regular and routine,” it mentioned that no final regulations have been framed, and no framework will be formulated without due consultations.

Citing four unnamed sources, a Reuters report claims that India had proposed new security requirements for smartphone makers. The publication claimed that it managed to obtain internal documents detailing the new requirements and said the draft proposals would have required manufacturers to share proprietary source code with government-designated labs, store detailed security logs for extended periods, and notify authorities ahead of major software updates.

The report had listed a list of requirements said to be proposed by the Government, and claimed that the Manufacturers' Association for Information Technology (MAIT), an industry body that represents OEMs such as Apple, Google, Samsung, and Xiaomi, has responded to them. The body had argued that sharing source code and imposing certain technical requirements had no clear global precedent and could affect device performance, user experience and the speed of security updates.

While PIB Fact Check has labelled the claims as fake, Reuters has not withdrawn or amended its story as of the time of writing. There has also been no separate clarification from MeitY beyond the fact-check post. In a separate report, the publication claimed the IT ministry issued a statement highlighting that the ongoing consultations were aimed at creating a “robust regulatory framework for mobile security.”