January 22, 2025

The Government Must Come Clean on Snooping

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2021-07-23 15:27:40

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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.

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Assisted by a network of international civil society organizations, a consortium of media companies across the world (The Wire was part of it from India) have broken a story about surveillance on people from all walks of life across the world, including India, using the Israeli snooping software Pegasus. The Israeli firm NSO that makes the spyware has denied that the phone numbers being flashed are from its database and has even threatened legal action against the publishers of the report. The Indian government has also denied having done any unauthorized or illegal snooping. But importantly, neither has NSO denied having sold the software to the Indian government nor has the Centre denied having purchased it.

The names being flashed in India include politicians (Rahul Gandhi and Abhishek Banerjee among others), journalists, political analyst Prashant Kishor, some judges, former election commissioner Ashok Lavasa and several businessmen. But although forensic analysis of phones of some of these people has indicated an attempt to hacking, nothing conclusive has emerged yet. It needs to be remembered that Pegasus is a powerful tool that listen to and record calls (including on encrypted platforms), copy contacts lists, app passwords, browsing history and the microphone and the camera can be used to capture off-line conversations and evidence can be planted. In short, the spyware leaves nothing private.

When the matter is about illegal surveillance of political opponents and others who are critical of the government, does it suffice just to say that no unauthorized snooping has taken place? There must be an independent inquiry to bring out the truth. Further, to build trust, the government must first confirm whether it has purchased Pegasus spyware. If it has, it must also put in public domain how the software has been used and against whom. If the government has used the software illegally, it is an assault of the right of privacy of citizens. It also treats them as criminals and lowers their dignity. Today there is one set of people who have allegedly been targeted. Tomorrow it might be another set. This has to stop. The government cannot keep tabs on people in a democracy unless it involves terrorism and crime, the very purpose for which NSO sells Pegasus to "vetted governments".