Live data from Hacker News

India orders smartphone makers to preload state-owned cyber safety app

reuters.com

421–430 of 783 posts

Re: India orders smartphone makers to preload state-owned cyber safety app

#421

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even if that were the case, by what mechanism are they commandeering it? That's essentially what I was thinking about in this India case. Undoubtedly most people will comply, but there will be a few who don't, so I'm curious what the plan is to bring them in line.

UK isn't commandeering anything. The UK government hasn't decided yet how digital ID will work, currently it's just a talking point. Probably it will be an app that you install, like the NHS app. Nobody is proposing that it be installed by default. Apple separately announced that a Digital ID feature will be built into iOS[0] which the UK may use or not use. > few who don't, so I'm curious what the plan is to bring t…

> Probably it will be an app that you install, like the NHS app.

You do not have to use the NHS app. There is a website version.

> Just the same as now, only at the moment you need a paper passport rather than a smartphone.

Which demonstrates how little it achieves. People already need some form of ID for lots of things (notably work and renting housing). It does not have to be a passport though.

Re: India orders smartphone makers to preload state-owned cyber safety app

#422

I wish the article talked more about this app India wanted to pre-install. Forcing the pre-install of apps is worrisome in general, but there's some nuance that is missed by not explaining what is being forced on the citizens. "Cybersecurity app" can mean a lot. From the looks it's a government-sponsored "brick my phone"-kind of app for disabling stolen phones?

[deleted]

Re: India orders smartphone makers to preload state-owned cyber safety app

#423
Just another round in the decades-long battle of who owns your device: Industry or state. It's never you, mind you, who owns your device.

The perversion is that you are legally responsible for what happens with your device, but you are unable to prevent others from using it as they wish. An app like this is automation for putting people into jail. Just upload some illegal content and then "detect it". There's literally nothing you can do to defend against this attack, and it will work until it's overused.

Re: India orders smartphone makers to preload state-owned cyber safety app

#424

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are confounding intent with the implementation.It might be a garbage app to start with, but there is no opt out for the users. Given the payoff and endless iterations resources will be thrown at it and it would eventually get better.

> Given the payoff and endless iterations resources will be thrown at it and it would eventually get better. Allow the user to download and install it if it turns out to be great. Do not shove things down people's throat against their wishes, like an authoritarian govt. Otherwise you start to resemble Stalin's Soviet Union.

Stalin did not force anyone to install apps. He was actually a good ruler. He took over the country with a plough and left it with a nuclear missile.

Re: India orders smartphone makers to preload state-owned cyber safety app

#425

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the singaporean "singpass" has been an amazing convenience. at this point its like why is any company still asking you to fill in personal particulars on forms? they should ask for access to singpass and you just authorize them. you apply to or for anything.. and they just give you the option of authorizing via singpass.. and you use your passkey-like singpass app to authorize it... and its done! you go to hospital a…

Doesn't this mean that it's not only your hospital that sees your medical records, but... everyone who would otherwise only need your name and telephone number? Or is there some way to restrict which party gets which data?

I don't think any of the national id services I've heard of stores all your data in a centralized place. Usually the national id service only provides identification to the service providers that request it. Each service provider (like, your bank, hospital, pension provider) will store their own data as they've always done, they just use the service to identify you.

Re: India orders smartphone makers to preload state-owned cyber safety app

#426

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All that couldn be as simple as educating people that there is no such thing as "digital arrest". You are just telling the whole world about the average IQ of an Indian and how they believe in foolish things like "digital arrest". And an app doesn't solve that. Digital literacy is a need for today, but the entire country is getting the latest smartphone, with dirt cheap data and zero knowledge of how to operate and o…

And your point is what exactly?

Presumably the point is what they wrote, e.g. "an app doesn't solve that. Digital literacy is a need for today"

Not saying I agree or disagree but your reply comes across as passive aggressive to me. Not that the parent post makes pleasant insinuations either, to be fair...

Re: India orders smartphone makers to preload state-owned cyber safety app

#427

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah that’s a nightmare for privacy if someone decides to use it against you.

HOW would this hypothetical person use it against you? It's a driver's licence infringing on my privacy too? Cause they're mostly the same, at least the way they're implemented in Sweden

In addition to the requesting party information about your activity can be sent to other parties for your safety.

Re: India orders smartphone makers to preload state-owned cyber safety app

#428

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don’t really get why people seem convinced that the government is removing protections for all citizens under a smokescreen of illegal immigration handling, as opposed to taking limited and temporary measures to deal with an unusual situation. Probably because the actions being taken are against people of every category; illegal immigrants, legal immigrants, and naturally born citizens. As has been noted, _anyone…

You may personally have an issue with federal law enforcement detaining people who are in the US illegally, but nobody is being "kidnapped".

A citizen being rounded up by the state and bundled off to a foreign country illegally and with no process is absolutely kidnapping regardless of how much you want to pretend otherwise.

Re: India orders smartphone makers to preload state-owned cyber safety app

#429

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don’t really get why people seem convinced that the government is removing protections for all citizens under a smokescreen of illegal immigration handling, as opposed to taking limited and temporary measures to deal with an unusual situation. Probably because the actions being taken are against people of every category; illegal immigrants, legal immigrants, and naturally born citizens. As has been noted, _anyone…

What actions are being taken against legal immigrants and naturally born citizens? Are you referring to getting arrested and released due to some suspicion (let’s say the suspicion is always fabricated for the sake of argument), or deported, or something else? On due process, if someone accidentally gets a free flight to a foreign country, that totally sucks and they should be paid compensation, but let’s not pretend…

Of course this is where it starts. If you ever find yourself in the situation of saying “at least it’s not as bad as Nazi Germany” then you’re probably not heading in a good direction.

Re: India orders smartphone makers to preload state-owned cyber safety app

#430

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

[flagged]

"And the Islamic countries are more than happy to bend the knee to a superior white globalist monolith that doesn't like diversity of ideas."

Have you ever spoken to people from islamic countries and about their views towards the west?

Post reply on HN