Amnesty International has said India’s review of a telecom industry proposal to mandate always-on satellite location tracking on phones for better lawful surveillance was “deeply concerning” and puts data of human rights defenders at risk.

The central government has long pushed telecoms companies to give more precise locations of individuals under investigation.

The telecoms operators say the best way to achieve this would be for the government to order smartphone manufacturers to permanently enable location tracking on phones. Reuters reported on Friday that the government is reviewing that proposal.

The discussions are being privately opposed by big smartphone firms Apple, Google and Samsung , due to privacy and security concerns.

In a statement to Reuters , Amnesty International

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