The Ministry of Home Affairs has permitted sweeping powers to 10 central agencies to track, monitor and even intercept data on every personal computer. This is indeed shocking news to all citizens of India.
This is the first time that the government has granted the power to scan data on a computer and not just in transfer between two computers- to investigating agencies, according to the media reports.
The newly signed order that was issued yesterday, Dec 20, by the Ministry of Home Affairs authorizes India’s 10 central agencies to intercept, monitor, and decrypt “any information generated, transmitted, received or stored in any computer.”
Then ten respective agencies are listed as follows:
Intelligence Bureau, Narcotics Control Bureau, Enforcement Directorate, Central Board of Direct Taxes, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, CBI, National Investigation Agency, Cabinet Secretariat (R&AW), Directorate of Signal Intelligence (for service areas in Jammu and Kashmir, North-East and Assam only) and the Delhi Police Commissioner.
The NDTV report says, “this signed order requires any person in command of the computer to cooperate and extend technical assistance to investigating agencies if they come knocking on your doorstep.”
If the person in the query doesn’t cooperate, they can face up to 7 years in jail and a monetary fine. This new move by the Home Ministry to grant powers to investigating agencies to track, record and scan data on any computer that can be misused.
But this new order is drawing some criticism on social media.
Welcome to surveillance state .
— KD? (@immune_soul) December 21, 2018
Why is every Indian being treated like a criminal? This order by a govt wanting to snoop on every citizen is unconstitutional and in breach of the telephone tapping guidelines, the Privacy Judgement and the Aadhaar judgement. https://t.co/vJXs6aycP0
— Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) December 21, 2018
As per 2009 Procedure & Safeguards for Interception, Monitoring & Decryption of Info Rules, directions for interception and monitor stored in any computer, can only be taken by officer not below the rank of joint secty in GOI, under unavoidable circumstances? @IndianExpress pic.twitter.com/3fWURGE1rE
— rahul tripathi (@rahultripathi) December 21, 2018
Modi G ;
My Computer is My Computer
None of Your Computer pic.twitter.com/Q1oNLzZDBZ— Aarti (@aartic02) December 21, 2018
You're correct buddy but since then these agencies were not authorized and if they wanted to track one's data, they needed permission from the ministry.
Now these 10 agencies are free to monitor at their will ; breaching the right to privacy.— ????? ????? ?? (@sumitrainaa) December 21, 2018
https://twitter.com/SaffronWatch/status/1076113201455017985
You're correct buddy but since then these agencies were not authorized and if they wanted to track one's data, they needed permission from the ministry.
Now these 10 agencies are free to monitor at their will ; breaching the right to privacy.— ????? ????? ?? (@sumitrainaa) December 21, 2018
Ministry of Home Affairs has granted sweeping powers to 10 central agencies to track, monitor and intercept data on every computer in the country. https://t.co/ZUSUBve09s
— Fayaaz abdullah (@Fayaaz_rumi) December 21, 2018
