Snooping of any kind is not a welcome step. More so, when such actions are initiated by government agencies. However, to say that such a situation is arising in India for the first time after the central government issued an order earlier this month is to ignore the existing realities. The order granted power to 10 investigation agencies to closely monitor citizens’ internet-computer activities if and when a need arose. Every new age shady activity happens via the internet.
Fact is governmental agencies world-wide engage in snooping, though there could be certain limits to what they could do, depending on the freedom that each nation guarantees its citizens. China and Russia, as also the Islamic nations, could be in the forefront of snooping while the land of freedom –the United States – is not immune from the scourge.
Admittedly, governments cannot do without this. Every society has its troublesome elements lurking in the shadows. Identifying them and keeping a close watch on them is a matter of priority to any law-enforcing agency worth its salt. To what extent they can go is still a debatable point. For instance, if such agencies get the legal right to put a snooping device inside an individual’s home, this is prima facie provocative and unacceptable.
At the same time, not to be ignored is that, whatever passes through internet is bereft of its privacy. There is someone, somewhere who, without our knowledge, has access to it. It could be internet service providers, it could be someone else. We are into the worldwide web. Secretly, governments are already keeping a watch on internet communication, which is how several terror-related cases are cracked. Terrorist networks are led to believe certain modes of transmissions cannot be tracked. Fact is, there is no such safe system.
It is now on record that the UPA government too had indulged in snooping. As per an RTI reply, the UPA II period saw tapping of 9000 phones and 500 email systems/addresses a month. This goes on. What the government now did was to ensure legal sanction for such ongoing acts. It might be of interest to know that the present advocate of snooping, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had, while as Opposition leader in Rajya Sabha during the UPA period, vehemently opposed similar provisions in the IT Intermediary Guide Licence Rule. Snooping cannot be wished away. It’s there to stay. What’s advisable is to try and limit its scope. And citizens’ ought to question this for democracy is all about citizens’ rights.