Apple has come under fire from the country’s telecom regulator after it reportedly blocked a spam reporting app created by TRAI which is supposed to help block pesky calls and unwanted messages.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has accused Apple of not caring about customers, as the company does not allow an application developed by the regulator to be used on iPhones due to the fact that it requires access to SMS and call logs.
With increasing presence of spam in India, TRAI had created an app which makes easy for users in the country to report numbers to the regulators and then have them blocked. Called Do-Not-Disturb, the application currently runs on Android exclusively, as it requires access to information that Apple does not allow to share in iOS, which means that iPhone users can’t install it in the first place.
TRAI’s Chairman, R.S. Sharma, says the regulator has been talking to Apple about the issue, but the negotiations have until now recorded no progress, with Cupertino only promising to address the problem but without taking any actions in this regard.
“While Google's Android supports our Do-Not-Disturb (DND) app, Apple has just been discussing, discussing, and discussing. They have not done anything. They are anti-consumer and they are really not caring for their customers who could have been saved from pesky calls and unwanted messages,” the Indian official has been quoted as saying.
“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. Apple can at best be the custodian of data. The ownership should remain and shall remain with the consumer who produced the data.”
Apple has not issued any response to these statements, but the company is said to be working with Indian officials on finding a way to get the app working on its devices. However, if no modification is implemented in the app and it still needs SMS and phone call log access. This means it is impossible to unblock it in iOS given the system-level protection in the operating system.
