E-Paper
Centre moves against e-rickshaw BMS apps
The Centre has asked Apple and Google to remove seven mobile apps used to remotely disable battery-operated vehicles, days after videos of pranksters immobilising e-rickshaws with a tap on their smartphones went viral across Indian social media
Prefer HTon Google
The Centre has asked Apple and Google to remove seven mobile apps used to remotely disable battery-operated vehicles, days after videos of pranksters immobilising e-rickshaws with a tap on their smartphones went viral across Indian social media.
“Meity issued notice to Google Android and Apple iOS to remove 7 applications from their App Store for misuse of apps for shutting down batteries in e-rickshaws/vehicles,” said a government official.
The apps — BAT-BMS, SMART BMS, JBD-BMS, XiaoXiangElectrics, JKBMS, Lossigy and Epoch-i-ion — connect to vulnerable Bluetooth-enabled battery management systems (BMS) and have been used to switch off vehicles mid-journey, according to a senior government official at the Union ministry of electronics and information technology (Meity). “Any other such apps being misused will also be blocked,” a second government official said.
A person aware of the matter said that the Apple has been asked to take down six of the seven apps, barring Epoch-i-ion.
The action is not being taken under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, the provision typically used to block online content and apps. “It doesn’t come within the ambit of 69A,” the senior Meity official said.
Instead, the government is treating continued hosting of the apps as a potential legal violation that could strip Apple and Google of the legal immunity they otherwise enjoy as intermediaries. “It’s a potential violation of law and hence the safe harbour could be lifted,” the official said, referring to protections under Section 79 of the IT Act, which shield platforms from liability for third-party content unless they fail to act on a legal notice.
The official did not specify which law the apps are alleged to violate.
The government did not say whether notices have also been issued to the app developers, or whether any action is planned against manufacturers of the vulnerable battery systems.
In a test conducted with a driver’s permission, HT was able to disable an e-rickshaw using one of the apps after connecting to its unsecured Bluetooth-enabled BMS. The apps are designed to monitor battery health — voltage, temperature, current — but can also cut power to compatible lithium-ion packs if they connect to an unprotected Bluetooth interface.
