The India government has refused Apple’s request to exempt the iPhone from anti-spam laws regarding a mandatory anti-spam app, with the fight possibly ending up in the iPhone getting cut off from the country’s cellular networks.
India’s Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRAI) is demanding that Apple install an official anti-spam app. Anti-spam apps exist now with more coming online after iOS 12 —but India’s official one demands access to the user’s text message archive, and call logs.
Apple sent a letter to TRAI in mid-July about the matter, asking that India reconsider dropping noncompliant phones from the network. However, Apple’s request was flatly denied by the group.
“The most appropriate way to challenge this is in court,” TRAI Chairman R.S. Sharma told Reuters.
