As a citizen, one wants to enjoy unhampered, the freedoms that one is promised by the constitution. However, there are many ways in which freedoms are circumscribed and limited either for the public good or for other purported reasons. We also enjoy some amount of privacy in our dealings and would be worried if that appeared to be unsafe as well. There is much that the government can do and is doing. Here is what you should know:
If you like posting on social media your pictures of exotic holidays abroad or expensive new acquisitions, be informed that there are people watching you showoff share. From this month onwards, the government will be pulling out all the stops to access your financial information.
The government wants information about your income, financial situation and spending patterns and wants to know if this matches declarations you’ve made to the tax authorities and others. Information from banks and social media will go into creating a data base unlike any other. It is called Project Insight and will cost over 1000 crore rupees over 7 years; meant to check tax evasion and boost compliance.
If you trade or dabble in virtual (crypto) currency, this is something you should be aware of. Right now, dealing in Bitcoins is neither legal nor illegal. A regulatory regime however is being considered and may soon be put into place. Such transactions could soon come under the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
Our internet activities are subject to wide ranging monitoring and surveillance and these are actually in violation of notifications that ensure the privacy of our communications. Keyword based monitoring is one way that government agencies look in on our web browsing, private chats and email communications.
The reason these monitoring systems are put in place is to ensure the safety of people to intercept and possibly repel cyber attacks as well as physical aggressions that could endanger our online activities and offline lives. The problem however is that this places in the hands of the authorities some very significant powers.
As citizens we need to be very careful and aware about any infringement of our freedoms and curtailment of rights by the government or its representatives. They often become tools for harassment in the wrong hands. We may be living perfectly normal lives well within the ambit of the law. However, the power of mass surveillance has great potential for misuse. We already have the Central Monitoring System Project, DRDO Netra, Lawful Intercept And Monitoring Project, Telecom Enforcement Resource and Monitoring Project and so on. What real need is there for Project Insight in addition to these?
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