India’s government denies it plans to demand smartphone source code

India’s government has denied that it is working on rules that would require smartphone manufacturers to provide access to their source code.

A Sunday report by Reuters claimed that India has circulated a package of 83 security standards, among them requirements to share smartphone source code and another requiring developers to give India’s government advance of major software updates. The report claims that Apple and Samsung have opposed the plan.

Also on Sunday, India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) issued a statement refuting the Reuters story.

“The Government of India is continuously taking steps to ensure the safety and security of users and to protect their personal data in the rapidly evolving digital ecosystem,” the statement opens, before observing “With over a billion mobile users in the country, smartphones today hold vast amounts of personal and financial data, making them attractive targets for cybercriminals.”

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