Govt Debunks Report: No Forced Source Code Sharing for Phone Makers

• PIB denied claims that the Indian government is forcing smartphone makers to share source code or make software changes.
• The Press Information Bureau (PIB) labeled a Reuters report suggesting this as 'misleading' and 'FAKE'.
• Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is only conducting stakeholder consultations for a possible mobile security regulatory framework.
• These consultations are routine for safety and security standards; no final regulations have been framed.
• The Reuters report had claimed India considered rules requiring source code sharing, software update notifications, and other changes, drawing criticism from tech giants like Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi, and Google.

Why It Matters: Indian government denies forcing smartphone makers to share source code, calls Reuters report 'misleading'.