Shashi Tharoor (left) and Mahua Moitra (right).
Credit: PTI Photos
An alert sounded by US tech giant Apple to some Opposition leaders, journalists and others that their digital devices were being targeted by ‘State-sponsored attackers’ has brought the issue of State surveillance of citizens, and in particular of Opposition leaders, again into focus. Over a dozen Opposition leaders and journalists received the company’s notifications on Monday. They include Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and TMC MP Mahua Moitra. Apple later said that notifications may sometimes be false alarms but that did not dilute the gravity of the general alert. The alerts are sounded when the company detects attacks and attempts to hack Apple devices. The government has said that it is taking the matter seriously and that the warning message was not unique to India. IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said that a probe has been ordered. Apple has been asked to join it. At the same time, he has termed the Opposition leaders’ claims as “vague.”
This is the second time the issue of illegal surveillance of citizens has come to the fore. In 2021, there were allegations that several politicians, activists and journalists had been targeted with the use of the Israeli Pegasus spyware, which is sold only to governments. The government’s denials then were not convincing. The matter reached the Supreme Court but the questions were not satisfactorily answered. A court-appointed committee reported to probe into the allegations said it could not find conclusive evidence of the use of the spyware, noting that the government had not cooperated in the investigation. The court, which in August last year had said that it would consider the recommendations of the committee after four weeks, is set to consider them on Friday.
The enquiry ordered by the government into the Apple alerts will not be credible because it is the government itself that is accused of conducting the surveillance. It should be noted that the alerts have been received only by Opposition leaders. The government has come under criticism frequently for violation of citizens’ rights through surveillance, curbs on freedom of expression, and attacks on the right to protest. The right to privacy is a fundamental right and illegal surveillance is a violation of the right. Representatives of the government and the BJP have often sought to justify surveillance as necessary State action to protect national security. But surveillance of Opposition leaders cannot be defended on any ground. There have even been credible charges that the phones of the government’s critics and activists were hacked to plant incriminating evidence against them. Unrestricted surveillance of individuals makes the country a ‘Police State’ and the alarms over it are rising.