Thread by @internetfreedom

We wrote to @MoCA_GoI and @DGCAIndia asking them to recall the conditional exemption allowing the use of drones for COVID-19 related operations and to commence an investigation into the illegal use of drones by the Delhi Police for mass surveillance. 1/n

internetfreedom.in/the-ongoing-il…

Under this conditional exemption, government entities are allowed to deploy drones to conduct aerial surveillance, aerial photography and public announcements related to COVID-19. 2/n

deccanherald.com/national/govt-…

Illegal use of drones by the Delhi Police first came to our attention in December, 2019 when the Delhi Police used them to surveill the protests that took place in the city. 3/n

https://twitter.com/kruttikasusarla/status/1210475653121708032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1210475653121708032&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Finternetfreedom.in%2Fits-a-bird-its-a-plane-oh-no-its-a-surveillance-drone-we-write-to-the-dgca-to-take-action%2F

As a result, we sent a legal notice dated December 27, 2019 (Ref. No. 143/2019) to the DGCA on the illegal use of drones by the Delhi Police. 4/n

internetfreedom.in/its-a-bird-its…

However, in February, 2020 we again came across reports that the Delhi Police had used drones to “monitor the situation” during the riots in North-East Delhi. 5/n

thewire.in/government/del…

We filed RTI requests dated 14.2.2020 with Delhi Police asking them about their use of drones. In response, the North-East District, Seelampur division disclosed that they have been hiring drones from the open market through their SHOs. 6/n

internetfreedom.in/delhi-police-a…

Aerial surveillance, as allowed by conditional exemption mentioned hereinabove, is violative of the decision in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy vs Union of India. 7/n

This is because the intrusion which will be made by such use of drones into the privacy of individuals is disproportionate to the objective for which the step is being taken. 8/n

Recently, the Paris-based Conseil d’Etat banned drone surveillance by the Paris police for tracking people in public areas who were flouting social distancing norms as it was held to be against principles of privacy. 9/n

bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

It was held that such surveillance cannot be permitted until a privacy-friendly law is put in place. Similarly, in the absence of a data protection law in India, allowing such surveillance would lead to disproportionate intrusion into the privacy of individuals. 10/n

Thus IFF recommended that:
✅The conditional exemption to utilise drones for surveillance should be recalled.
✅An independent privacy impact assessment should be conducted by the DGCA before granting permission to any government authority under the conditional exemption. 11/n

✅The DGCA should institute an investigation into the illegal use of drones for mass surveillance by departments such as the Delhi Police.
✅No retrospective sanction should be made for any illegal actions including those by the Delhi Police through the now notified rules. 12/n