Apple and Samsung Oppose India’s Smartphone Source Code-Sharing Rule

India wants smartphone makers to share their source code with its government.

That’s according to a report Sunday (Jan. 11) by Reuters, which said that the government also wants these companies to make several software changes to comply with new security measures, drawing pushback from the likes of Apple and Samsung.

These companies say that India’s 83 security standards,  which also require companies to notify the government of major software updates, is unheard of elsewhere in the world and risks revealing proprietary details, Reuters added, citing four sources familiar with the discussions and its own review of confidential government and industry documents.

PYMNTS has contacted Apple and Samsung for comment but has not yet gotten a reply.

Indian IT Secretary S. Krishnan told Reuters that “any legitimate concerns of the industry will be addressed with an open mind,” adding it was “premature to read more into it.”

A ministry spokesperson said it could not comment further because of ongoing consultation with tech companies on the plan.

The report noted that the proposal is part of a larger government effort to secure user data amid increasing fraud and data breaches in the second-largest smartphone market on the planet.

The changes would require access to source code, the programming instructions that make the phones work, for analysis and potential testing at government labs, the report said. In addition, the companies would be required to make software changes to allow preinstalled apps to be removed and to prevent apps from using cameras and microphones in the background to “avoid malicious usage,” Reuters added.

In other smartphone-related news, Samsung said last week it plans to double the number of its devices outfitted with Galaxy AI.

In an interview with Reuters, the firm’s new co-CEO said this move would give the company an advantage over its rivals.

Samsung had as of last year embedded artificial intelligence (AI) features backed by Google’s Gemini on around 400 million smartphones and tablets. Now, the company is hoping to bring that number to 800 million in 2026.

“We will apply AI to all products, all functions, and all services as quickly as possible,” T.M. Roh told Reuters, in his first interview since taking the co-chief executive role in November.

That report noted that this plan could give a major boost to Google’s Android mobile platform as the tech giant competes with the likes of OpenAI to entice consumers to use its AI model. For its part, Samsung is working to recapture its top spot in the smartphone market from Apple, while also dealing with rivals from China in the larger electronics field.