In 2018, we asked the Government of India about the number of electronic surveillance orders passed by it.

Two years later, @PIBHomeAffairs claims to have *destroyed* all records relating to the total number of surveillance orders passed. 🧵 1/n

internetfreedom.in/information-so…
IFF had filed six RTI applications in December '18 with the @PIBHomeAffairs to gauge the extent of surveillance conducted by the government. But MHA refused to grant the sought information then, relying on unrelated exemptions under the RTI Act, 2005. 2/n
internetfreedom.in/iff-keeps-push…
The questions asked were merely, “How many people were surveilled” and sought no information that threatened national security or interfered with any ongoing investigations.

Yet, @PIBHomeAffairs refused to divulge the crucial data necessary for an informed public debate. 3/n Screenshot of an RTI response that refuses to reveal "h
We persisted against this order. On May 17 2021, the Central Information Commission rejected MHA’s excuses and ordered @PIBHomeAffairs to provide a revised order. MHA conducted another hearing but effectively came up with new excuses to justify the same response. 4/n
MHA's response goes against transparency & enables the govt to evade all questions around surveillance.

Recently, the Minister of State for Communications @devusinh tendered a reply identical to MP @JohnBrittas' question on phone interception orders authorised by the govt. 5/n Question to the minister of communications on IT Act and det
Further, the unnecessary delay caused by the MHA in its earlier replies by relying on unrelated provisions of the RTI Act appears to be a dilatory tactic — in a matter where the MHA has caused significant delays, its reliance on such provisions is particularly self-serving. 6/n
We will continue in our quest for seeking transparency and accountability from the government.

Support us today. Become an IFF member.

internetfreedom.in/donate/

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More from @internetfreedom

5 Aug
We're back with the freshest edition of #CybersecCharcha — IFF's monthly newsletter where we discuss data rights and all things cybersecurity!

With everything that has happened recently, our latest edition focuses on (of course) spyware. 🧵 1/n

internetfreedom.in/4-cybersec-cha…
Repressive governments use spyware, seeking to invade the privacy of dissidents’ to know exactly what they do, when, where, and with whom.

Journalists and activists are major targets around the globe, and intimidation is the name of the game. #CybersecCharcha 2/n
The #PegasusProject and NSO — you probably know a little bit about them. But how much do you know about the booming surveillance industry? #CybersecCharcha 3/n

📷: @privacyint Screenshot of how many surv...
Read 7 tweets
5 Aug
Petitions related to #Pegasus were heard by the Supreme Court today. The petitioners have been directed to serve copies of the petitions to the Union Government and the matter to be listed next week for further consideration.

Here what happened: 🧵1/n

internetfreedom.in/pegasus-rupesh…
Represented in Court by Mr Arvind Datar, Senior Advocate — with legal assistance from IFF — @RupeshKSingh85 & @IpsaShatakshi have asked the Court to declare the use of a spyware like #Pegasus as unconstitutional, and direct the Govt. to disclose all Pegasus-related documents. 2/n
On the basis of a leaked database accessed by @FbdnStories & @amnesty, explosive reports were published last month by an international media consortium that alleged that a spyware, #Pegasus, was being used to conduct targeted surveillance. 3/n

thewire.in/government/pro…
Read 11 tweets
4 Aug
Remember the “Manipulated Media” episode? When @GoI_MeitY sent letters to Twitter asking it to stop conducting fact checks?

Well, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has now admitted that the letters were not issued under any provision of the IT Act, 2000. 1/n RTI reply from MeitY saying no direction under IT Act was is
When @GoI_MeitY first issued its letter to Twitter in May '21, asking it to remove the “Manipulated Media” tag, we wrote to MeitY pointing out that nothing in the IT Act or Rules empowers MeitY to do this. And that this request had no statutory basis. 2/n

We also filed 2 RTIs with MeitY in June asking if it had directed Twitter to remove the tag & under which provisions, if so. MeitY’s response did not refer to any legal provision under the IT Act, although MeitY provided copies of 2 letters to Twitter. 3/n
Read 6 tweets
2 Aug
We have an update on the #Sec66A hearings!

In short: S.66A was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 2015, but cases are still being filed under that section.

Today, the SC has asked all the States, UTs & HC Registrar-Generals to respond. 1/n
internetfreedom.in/supreme-court-…
PUCL is one of the foremost civil liberties organisations in the country! They've helped bring about several landmark judgments expanding human rights in India.

They were petitioners in the original 'Shreya Singhal' judgement & have been following up on #Section66A since. 2/n
Why, you ask? Because even after the 2015 judgement that struck down #Section66A as unconstitutional, authorities kept registering cases with it!

Don't believe us? Check our tracker 👇🏽

zombietracker.in 3/n
Read 10 tweets
2 Aug
Hearing update: A Supreme Court bench led by Justice Nariman will hear @PUCLindia's application seeking directions against the continued enforcement of S.66A of the IT Act. (1/n) Image
On 05.07.2021, the Supreme Court directed the Government to respond to the application. The Government filed their reply on 26.07.21 and PUCL has responded to the reply. (2/n)
Based on PUCL's application, MHA has issued a notification on 14.07.21, directing police to stop registering cases under S.66A and to withdraw pending cases.

internetfreedom.in/spooked-by-the…

(3/n)
Read 4 tweets
29 Jul
#Pegasus has been plaguing the people's privacy since 2019, when it primarily targeted the citizens of Maharashtra & Chhattisgarh.

Striving for transparency, IFF has written to these 2 state governments to investigate the #PegasusProject revelations.

1/n
internetfreedom.in/state-governme…
In 2019, @citizenlab reported how #Pegasus successfully hacked 20 people through WhatsApp out of the 121 Indians it targeted. NSO only gives the spyware to vetted govts. & WhatsApp had confirmed in 2019 that human rights & journalists were spied upon.

2/n
internetfreedom.in/statement-scar…
2 years ago, #Pegasus targeted citizens through WhatsApp's call function, IFF wrote to state governments seeking investigation, but we were denied. Today, the #PegasusProject reports by @thewire_in show how it has become more sophisticated with its zero-click attack ability.
3/n
Read 9 tweets

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