Roger Fingas
Apple is being "anti-consumer" and engaging in "data colonization" by so far refusing to approve an official government "do not disturb" app for the iPhone, according to the chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
"While Google's Android supports our Do-Not-Disturb app, Apple has just been discussing, discussing, and discussing. They have not done anything," R.S. Sharma told the Times of India. The Android app launched in June 2016, but an iPhone equivalent has languished for a year.
The issue appears to be privacy, as the Android app can access SMS and call log details, which are in turn used to share numbers sending unwanted calls and texts with the TRAI. Typically Apple doesn't allow that level of access for third-party apps.
"So basically you [Apple] are violating the right of the user to willingly share his/her own data with the regulator or with any third party of his/her choice," Sharma said. "If a customer wants to share financial transaction data with his/her bank, for getting a loan, why should it not be allowed? This is what we call data colonization."
The chairman called Apple "anti-consumer" for not approving an app meant to prevent harassment.
Talks between Apple and the TRAI are reportedly still ongoing, though it's not clear what progress is being made, if any.
Apple has sometimes found ways to open up iOS functionality without compromising sandboxing. iOS 10 in fact supports call blocking and identification apps, but without allowing the log access and sharing the TRAI has been asking for. Instead it checks against an app's blocking/ID database for inbound calls, and only if that app is specifically enabled in the iOS Settings app's "Call Blocking & Identification" section.
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17 Comments
sounds almost identical to the iOS app - TrueCaller? If its allowed, can't see why this isn't.
So stick with your bloody Android phone if you REALLY want this level of personal data intrusion. Imbeciles.
I think the difference here is that the government wants more power over the phone than Apple wants to allow. For example, I have used nomorobo to block calls, but Apple doesn't allow it to actually block the calls, it just sends them to voicemail. This makes some sense, because Apple doesn't want some third party app that decides to just block all calls from given numbers. What if the call were actually legitimate and the user never got the call? This is a lot of power to put into the hands of third party developers, some of whom try to break various rules.
Also, nomorobo can't block all calls. Specifically, I get a LOT of junk calls from number that have my same prefix (not area code). So if my number is (XXX) 333-4567, any call from 333 cannot be blocked (sent to voicemail). I'm not sure why this is, but I would really like to be able to stop those calls.
As a side note, I also use Google Voice, and I never get annoying calls from the Google Voice number, so it is possible to successfully filter calls. I would love to see Apple do something more about this.
Anyone else see the irony of Indian government trying to block unwanted calls!