Thread by @internetfreedom

The experts on surveillance & policy at IFF write in today's @the_hindu how the systems fail to safeguard the common citizens, and #Pegasus is just one jarring part of a much more dystopian bigger picture.
Full read, by @anushkaj11 and @TanmayPratapS.
1/n
thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/…

"As spyware becomes more affordable and interception becomes more efficient, there will no longer be a need to shortlist. Everyone will be potentially subject to state-sponsored mass surveillance. The only solution is immediate and far-reaching surveillance reform."

2/n

"Privacy and free speech are what enable good reporting. They protect journalists against threats of private and governmental reprisals against legitimate reporting."

3/n

"The very existence of a surveillance system impacts the right to privacy and exercise of freedom of speech and personal liberty under Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution... It prevents people from reading and exchanging unorthodox, controversial or provocative ideas."

4/n

"...the existing provisions are insufficient to protect against the spread of authoritarianism since they allow the executive to exercise a disproportionate amount of power."

5/n

"In the absence of parliamentary or judicial oversight, electronic surveillance gives the executive the power to influence both the subject of surveillance and all classes of individuals, resulting in a chilling effect on free speech."

6/n