Inconsistent solutions: Recent telecom directives must be reconsidered

This would in effect install in every smartphone a backdoor, which could be a threat to privacy and security

Two recent directives from the Department of Telecommunications have led to confusion and controversy. One mandates that apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, Arattai, Snapchat, and JioChat and other “telecommunication identifier user entities” must ensure that subscriber identity module (SIM)  cards are continuously linked to respective services. If users opt for website or web-app-based access, the apps must ensure they are logged out every six hours and re-login through the QR-code. This directive will interfere in the functionality of these apps and disrupt the business models of many services provided on them, as well as cause inconvenience to