Editor,
Does the Meghalaya Police’s quest for crime solving infringe on the common man’s civil liberties? That’s the question I’m asking today as modern technology continues to make it easier for law enforcement agencies to illegally monitor us innocent citizens.
In a recent incident, cyber sleuths from the SP Office, Laitumkhrah PS and Nongthymmai Police Beat House were left red-faced and embarrassed after they were exposed by a hacker for stealing personal photos from the Twitter account of a man from Cambodia (possibly of Khmer descent) and using them to create fake Telegram accounts(@cardapoly and @dj_apple)in order to track ‘suspects’ as part of their CCTNS program.
Even though the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 and the Information Technology Act, 2000 has under certain circumstances, permitted the government to conduct surveillance such as interception of calls and data, however planting of bugs in innocent civilians’ phones disguised as mobile applications and games like Dailyhunt, NewsPop, Snapchat and Solitaire to spy on their activities is highly unethical and a criminal act punishable by law. Has the Meghalaya Police forgotten that stealing personal photos of people without their consent is expressly prohibited under the IT Act? Have they forgotten that violating these cyber laws could land them in jail?
It is evident that technology has become part and parcel of our lives and the world has transformed into a global community where our lives have become more connected than ever. And while many of us agree that modern age AI gadgets and software should definitely be used in crime fighting in the State, however what concerns us the general public is the blatant use of modern technology to invade our privacy without a warrant; and it is also hard to ignore that the technology itself might have unintended and invasive side effects.
It is quite obvious that with the development of social media and sophisticated technology our lives have become less private; hence it became more important than ever to secure our privacy. Speaking of privacy, do citizens of Meghalaya know that the Meghalaya Police also use tower dumps to zero in on suspects, but a lot of innocent people’s data are swept up in the process? As a Meghalayan concerned of my own privacy, I now demand an answer. I want a clearer understanding of where that data goes, how long it’s stored and who has access to it. And if the law stands for the general public, why shouldn’t it apply to law enforcers themselves?
A concerned citizen
