India introduces Central Monitoring System
Privacy advocates are up in arms after the Indian government began quietly rolling out a Rs.4 billion(£47.8m) Central Monitoring System (CMS) designed to give the authorities sweeping access to citizens’ phone calls and internet comms in the name of national security.
The scheme is initially thought to have been conceived as a response to the threat of terrorism, such as the 2008 Mumbai attacks which killed over 150 people and injured hundreds more.
However, the CMS will not only be used by law enforcement but also the tax authorities and offers the government a single point of access to “lawfully” intercept voice calls and texts, emails, social media and the geographical location of individuals, Times of India reported.
Unsurprisingly the authorities have been pretty quiet about the scheme, although it is thought to have begun operation last month.
Its activities are backed up by legislation – specifically the Information Technology Act 2000 and its amendments – which allows the government to “intercept, monitor or decrypt” any info “generated, transmitted, received or stored in any computer resource” if security and public order are at risk.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/05/08/india_privacy_woes_central_monitoring_system/
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