Emergency alert system obligations on mobile OS providers as well

Mobile operating system providers such as Google and Apple will now have to ensure that the disaster alerts sent by the government every year are automatically read out in at least four Indian languages, besides Hindi and English. Emergency alert system obligations on mobile OS providers as well The move is in accordance with the new amendment notified by the Department of Telecommunications on Wednesday to the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Rules, 2023. “3 No smartphone or feature phone shall be sold in India without mandatory support to receive cell broadcast messages in all Indian languages as per the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India; no smartphone or feature phone shall be sold in India without mandatory support for auto-readout in Indian accent of cell broadcasts received in Hindi and English; manufactures, companies, software developers, or any other business entities involved in the manufacturing, importing, or development of operating software for smartphones or feature phones intended for sale in India, shall incorporate the auto-readout feature in Indian accent for four languages, other than Hindi and English, as per the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India every year from the date of this notification, until this feature is incorporated for all languages as per the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution of India,” one of the amendments says. The April 2023 rules required all manufacturers who manufacture or sell smartphones or feature phones in India to support cell broadcast messages in English and Hindi. Under the April 2023 rules, the manufacturers had time until January 6, 2024 to ensure mandatory receipt of “extreme cell broadcast alert messages”, and to ensure read out of the cell broadcast messages in English and Hindi in an Indian accent.