Surveillance nation: India spies on world’s largest population

Authorities say they are needed to improve governance and bolster security in a severely under-policed country. (AFP file photo)
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Updated 20 March 2023
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Surveillance nation: India spies on world’s largest population

  • Across the country, the use of CCTV and facial recognition is increasing in schools, airports, train stations, prisons and streets as authorities roll out a nationwide system to curb crime and identify missing children

NEW DELHI: Khadeer Khan was arrested in the south Indian city of Hyderabad in January after police claimed to have identified him from CCTV footage as a suspect in a chain snatching incident. He was released a few days later, and died while being treated for injuries he allegedly sustained while in custody.
The police said Khan was arrested because he looked like the man seen in the CCTV footage.
“When it was ruled out that Khadeer was not the one who had committed the crime, he was released. Everything was done as per procedure,” said K. Saidulu, a deputy superintendent of police.
But human rights activists say the 36-year-old was clearly misidentified — a growing risk with the widespread use of CCTV in Telangana state, which has among the highest concentrations of the surveillance technology in the country.
“We have been warning for many years that CCTV and facial recognition technology can be misused for harassment, and that they can misidentify people,” said S.Q. Masood, a human rights activist who filed a lawsuit in 2021 challenging the use of facial recognition in Telangana that is still ongoing.

HIGHLIGHTS

• India poised to become world's most populous nation

• Increased digitisation of services has led to greater surveillance, activists say

• Authorities say surveillance needed to curb crime

“This case has exposed just how harmful it can be,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Across the country, the use of CCTV and facial recognition is increasing in schools, airports, train stations, prisons and streets as authorities roll out a nationwide system to curb crime and identify missing children.
It’s not the only form of surveillance in the country.
The biometric national ID Aadhaar, with some 1.3 billion IDs issued, is linked to dozens of databases including bank accounts, vehicle registrations, SIM cards and voters’ lists, while the National Intelligence Grid aims to link nearly two dozen databases of government agencies for citizen profiles.
Meanwhile, policing of the Internet has also grown, with greater monitoring of social media, and the most frequent Internet shutdowns in the world.
Authorities say they are needed to improve governance and bolster security in a severely under-policed country. But technology experts say there is little correlation to crime, and that they violate privacy and target vulnerable people.
“Everything’s being digitised, so there’s a lot of information about a person being generated that is accessible to the government and to private entities without adequate safeguards,” said Anushka Jain, legal counsel at Internet Freedom Foundation, an advocacy group in Delhi.
“At a time when people are attacked for their religion, language and sexual identity, the easy availability of these data can be very harmful. It can also result in individuals losing access to welfare schemes, to public transport or the right to protest whenever the government deems it necessary.”

BIRTH TO DEATH
India is poised to become the world’s most populous country in April, overtaking China with more than 1.43 billion people, according to estimates by the United Nations.
The government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has prioritized the Digital India program to improve efficiency and streamline welfare schemes by digitising everything from land titles to health records to payments.
Aadhaar — the world’s largest biometric database — underpins many of these initiatives, and is mandatory for welfare, pension and employment schemes, despite a 2014 Supreme Court ruling that it cannot be a requirement for welfare programs.
Yet despite its wide adoption, millions face difficulties with their Aadhaar IDs because of inaccurate details or fingerprints that don’t match, and are denied vital services.
“The government claims linking to Aadhaar brings better governance, but it will lead to a totalitarian society because the government knows every individual’s profile,” said Srinivas Kodali at Free Software Movement of India, an advocacy group.
“The goal is to track everyone from birth to death. Anything linked to Aadhaar eventually ends up with the ministry of home affairs, and the policing and surveillance agencies, so dissent against the government becomes very difficult,” he added.
The ministry of home affairs did not respond to a request for comment.
The latest iteration of digitization is Digi Yatra, which was rolled out at the Delhi, Bengaluru and Varanasi airports in December. It allows passengers to use their Aadhaar ID and facial recognition for check-ins at airports.
The ministry of civil aviation has said Digi Yatra leads to “reduced wait time and makes the boarding process faster and more seamless,” with dedicated lanes for those using the app.
But those who choose to not use Digi Yatra may be viewed with suspicion and subject to additional checks, said Kodali.
The data — including travel details — can also be shared with other government agencies, and may be used to put people on no-fly lists, and stop activists, journalists and dissenters from traveling, as is already happening, said Kodali.
The ministry of civil aviation did not respond to a request for comment.

ATTENDANCE APPS
Some of the lowest-paid public-sector workers in India bear the brunt of the government’s surveillance mechanisms.
Municipal workers across the country are required to wear GPS-enabled watches that are equipped with a camera that takes snapshots, and a microphone that can listen in on conversations.
The watches feed a stream of data to a central control room, where officials monitor the movements of each employee, and link the data to performance and salaries.
Authorities have said the goal is to improve efficiency. Workers across the country have protested the surveillance.
In January, the federal government said that the National Mobile Monitoring Software (NMMS) app would be mandatory for all workers under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), after having rolled it out in several states last year.
Women make up nearly 60 percent of the more than 20 million beneficiaries nationwide who get 100 days of work in a year, and are paid a daily wage of up to 331 rupees ($4).
The new system requires the supervising officer, called a mate, to upload pictures of the laborers when they start work and when they finish, as proof of their attendance, which was marked in manual logs earlier.
But this requires the mate — usually a woman — to have a smartphone and a stable Internet connection twice a day, which is near impossible in many rural areas, said Rakshita Swamy, a researcher with the non-profit Peoples’ Action for Employment Guarantee.
“If the pictures don’t get uploaded, the workers are considered absent, and they don’t get paid for the work,” she said.
“There is also hesitation among the women about having their pictures taken. There is no transparency about what happens to these photographs — it’s highly likely that they are being used to train facial recognition algorithms,” she added.
Hundreds of NREGS workers are holding a protest in Delhi, calling for payment of back wages and doing away with the app.
The ministry of rural development has said the app would lead to “more transparency and ensure proper monitoring” of workers, without addressing surveillance concerns.
A long-delayed data protection law, which is awaiting passage in parliament, would offer little recourse as it gives sweeping exceptions to government agencies, say privacy experts.
In Rajasthan state, which has among the highest number of Internet shutdowns in the country, Kamla Devi, a mate in Ajmer district, has struggled with the NMMS app for several months.
“On many days, there’s no network, and I tell the workers to go home. There’s no point if they work because they won’t get paid,” she said.
“This app is ruining livelihoods. It was better when we had a manual attendance log.”

 

 


BBC staff in open letter accuse broadcaster of pro-Israel bias

Updated 03 November 2024
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BBC staff in open letter accuse broadcaster of pro-Israel bias

  • Over 100 employees demand corporation ‘recommit to fairness, accuracy and impartiality’
  • Letter signed by more than 230 figures in UK’s media industry, other sectors

LONDON: More than 100 BBC employees have accused the British broadcaster of pro-Israel bias in its coverage of the Gaza war.

The claim was made in an open letter signed by more than 230 figures in the UK’s media industry and other sectors, who said the public broadcaster has failed to provide “fair and accurate” coverage of the conflict. It was sent to Tim Davie, director general of the BBC.

The letter, first seen by The Independent, said the BBC must “recommit to fairness, accuracy and impartiality.”

The BBC employees who signed the letter did so anonymously, with one telling The Independent that “so many of us feel paralysed by levels of fear.”

They added: “Colleagues have left the BBC in recent months because they just don’t believe our reporting on Israel and Palestine is honest.”

Prominent members of Britain’s political, media and academic class signed the letter, including Sayeeda Warsi, a Muslim member of the House of Lords; historian William Dalrymple; actress Juliet Stevenson; Dr. Catherine Happer, a senior lecturer in sociology and director of media at the University of Glasgow; Rizwana Hamid, director at the Centre for Media Monitoring; broadcaster John Nicolson; and columnist Owen Jones.

The BBC must “robustly challenge Israeli government and military representatives in all interviews,” the signatories said.

In September, BBC Chairman Samir Shah said the board would “seriously consider” a review into the broadcaster’s Middle East coverage.

It followed claims by Jewish groups that the BBC is suffering from an “extreme” anti-Israel bias and that it is failing to properly manage complaints.

The open letter calls on the BBC to make new editorial commitments, including “reiterating that Israel does not give external journalists access to Gaza; making it clear when there is insufficient evidence to back up Israeli claims; making clear where Israel is the perpetrator in article headlines; and including regular historical context predating October 2023.”

One example of a “dehumanizing and misleading headline” cited by signatories related to Israel’s killing of 6-year-old Hind Rajab in January this year. The BBC headline read: “Hind Rajab, 6, found dead in Gaza days after phone calls for help.”

The letter to the BBC said: “This was not an act of God. The perpetrator, Israel, should have been in the headline, and it should have been clear that she was killed.”

Another anonymous BBC employee told The Independent: “Palestinians are always treated as an unreliable source and we constantly give Israel’s version of events primacy despite the IDF’s (Israel Defense Forces) well-documented track record of lying.

“We often seem to prefer to leave Israel out of the headline if at all possible or cast doubt on who could be to blame for airstrikes.

“The verification level expected for anything related to Gaza hugely outweighs what is the norm for other countries.”

In response to the letter, a BBC spokesperson said the broadcaster holds itself “to very high standards,” adding: “This conflict is one of the most polarising stories to report on, and we know people feel very strongly about how this is being reported.

“The BBC receives almost equal measure of complaints asserting that we are biased towards Israel, as we do asserting we are biased against it.

“This does not mean we assume we are doing something right, and we continue to listen to all criticism — from inside and outside the BBC — and reflect on what we can do better.”


Mauritius reverses ban on social media

Updated 02 November 2024
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Mauritius reverses ban on social media

PORT LUIS, Mauritius: Mauritius on Saturday reversed its decision to block social media until its election that had been prompted by a wire-tapping scandal.
The ban on social media had been in place for 24 hours, with users on the Indian Ocean island unable to access Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X.
It was due to last until November 11 — the day after the general election.
The ban was prompted by the release of secret recordings of phone calls by politicians, journalists, members of civil society and even foreign diplomats that began to emerge online last month.
The office of Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth had said that “the national security and integrity of our republic and our international partners may have been compromised” by the leaks.
But in a statement on Saturday, the Information and Communications Authority said the ban had been lifted after “consultation with competent authorities.”
There had been uproar from opposition parties and local media groups, who rely heavily on social media.
The leaked recordings were released by an account called Missie Moustass (Mr Moustache), primarily on TikTok.
There have been attempts to block the account but it quickly resurfaced elsewhere and has been releasing recordings almost daily.
Among those causing the greatest shock was that of the police commissioner apparently asking a forensic doctor to alter a report into a person who died after being beaten in police custody. A judicial investigation into the death was launched following the leak.
Private calls featuring British High Commissioner Charlotte Pierre also appear to have been leaked.
Jugnauth is seeking re-election as head of the Militant Socialist Movement.
He inherited the premiership on the death of his father in 2017 and secured a victory for his coalition in polls two years later.


Israel moves to sever ties with Haaretz following publisher’s ‘freedom fighters’ remarks

Updated 01 November 2024
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Israel moves to sever ties with Haaretz following publisher’s ‘freedom fighters’ remarks

  • Publisher Amos Schocken delivered harsh criticism of Israeli policies, prompting government to call for restrictions on newspaper

LONDON: Israel is moving to sever ties and impose restrictions on the newspaper Haaretz after its publisher Amos Schocken referred to Palestinians as “freedom fighters” in a speech in London on Sunday.

Israel’s Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi on Thursday submitted a proposal calling for a range of restrictions on Haaretz following Schocken’s comments.

Moves include halting any new government contracts with the newspaper, including individual subscriptions for state employees, and canceling current agreements wherever legally feasible.

“All current agreements with Haaretz, including personal subscriptions, will be canceled as legally feasible,” Karhi’s proposal said, adding that the Government Advertising Bureau will be directed to withdraw all advertisements from the publication and seek refunds for any outstanding payments.

The proposal follows a similar measure put forward by Karhi in November 2023 when he accused Haaretz of undermining Israel’s war effort in Gaza.

Interior Minister Moshe Arbel also ordered an immediate halt to cooperation with Haaretz on Wednesday, saying in a letter that the government “cannot and will not remain silent in the face of harm to IDF soldiers and the state’s efforts to protect its citizens.”

Logo of Haaretz, English edition. (Wikimedia Commons)

The Interior Ministry’s official statement described Schocken’s comments as “deeply offensive and revealing a fundamental departure from core values.”

Speaking at a Haaretz conference in London — titled “Israel After Oct. 7: Ally or Alone?” — Schocken criticized Israeli policies and the current government, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration of “imposing a cruel apartheid regime on the Palestinian population.”

He told attendees: “It dismisses the costs of both sides for defending the settlements while fighting the Palestinian freedom fighters, that Israel calls terrorists.”

Schocken, who has led the left-leaning publication since 1990, condemned Israel’s settlement policies, asserting that the only viable solution was the establishment of a Palestinian state.

He said: “A Palestinian state must be established. And the only way to achieve this, I think, is to apply sanctions against Israel, against the leaders who oppose it, and against the settlers.”

Following a strong backlash, Schocken clarified his remarks to indicate that he did not consider groups like Hamas to be “freedom fighters,” and emphasized his support for those who resisted occupation without resorting to terrorism.

He said: “Given the reactions to my labeling Palestinians who commit acts of terror as freedom fighters, I have reconsidered my words.

“Many freedom fighters around the world and throughout history, possibly even those who fought for Israel’s establishment, committed terrible acts of terrorism, harming innocent people to achieve their goals.

“I should have said freedom fighters who also resort to terror tactics — which must be combated. The use of terror is not legitimate.”

Schocken, the son of Gershom Schocken who was the editor and publisher of Haaretz for over 50 years, faced similar criticism in September for advocating international intervention against the Netanyahu administration, comparing the situation in Israel to apartheid-era South Africa.
 


Indonesia bans sales of Google smartphones days after blocking Apple’s iPhone 16

Updated 01 November 2024
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Indonesia bans sales of Google smartphones days after blocking Apple’s iPhone 16

  • Block comes a week after Indonesia said it had blocked the sales of iPhone 16 domestically, also for not meeting local content rules
  • Indonesia has a huge, tech-savvy population, making the Southeast Asian nation a key target market for tech-related investment

JAKARTA: Indonesia said it has banned sales of smartphones made by Alphabet’s Google due to rules requiring the use of locally manufactured components, days after blocking sales of tech giant Apple’s iPhone 16 for the same reason.
Indonesia blocked sales of Google Pixel phones because the company has not met the rules which necessitate certain smartphones sold domestically to contain at least 40 percent of parts manufactured locally.
“We are pushing these rules so that there’s fairness for all investors in Indonesia,” Febri Hendri Antoni Arief, industry ministry spokesperson, said on Thursday. “Google’s products have not adhered to the scheme we set, so they can’t be sold here.”
Febri said consumers can buy Google Pixel phones overseas, so long as they pay the necessary taxes, adding the country would consider deactivating the phones that are illicitly sold.
Google did not immediately respond to a message and email requesting comment.
The block comes a week after Indonesia said it had blocked the sales of iPhone 16 domestically, also for not meeting local content rules.
Companies usually increase the use of domestic components to meet such rules through partnerships with local suppliers or by sourcing parts domestically.
Google and Apple are not among the top smartphone makers in Indonesia. The top two smartphone makers in the first quarter of 2024 were Chinese firm OPPO and South Korean firm Samsung, research firm IDC said in May.
Indonesia has a huge, tech-savvy population, making the Southeast Asian nation a key target market for tech-related investment.
Bhima Yudhistira, director of the Center of Economic and Law Studies think tank, said the move was “pseudo” protectionism that hurts consumers and impacts investor confidence.
“This creates a negative sentiment for investors looking to enter Indonesia,” he said.


‘Polarization of journalism’ rising amid Israel attacking, killing media workers

Updated 01 November 2024
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‘Polarization of journalism’ rising amid Israel attacking, killing media workers

  • Reporters not respected anymore, says veteran journalist Mohamad Chebaro

DUBAI: On Oct. 25, an airstrike in south Lebanon killed Al-Mayadeen TV’s camera operator Ghassan Najjar, broadcast engineer Mohammed Reda, and Hezbollah-owned Al-Manar TV’s camera operator Wissam Qassem.

It also injured several others including camera operator Hassan Hoteit and assistant camera operator Zakaria Fadel of the media production company Isol.

Other journalists hurt were photographer Hassan Hoteit from Al-Qahera channel, and Youmna Fawaz, a correspondent for MTV, according to media reports.

The Israeli army said the strike, which hit a compound housing 18 journalists from multiple media outlets, targeted Hezbollah militants; however, many believe it was a planned attack on journalists.

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the attack was deliberate and both he and Information Minister Ziad Makary labelled it a war crime.

“The Israeli enemy waited for the journalists’ nighttime break to betray them in their sleep ... This is an assassination, after monitoring and tracking, with prior planning and design, as there were 18 journalists there representing seven media institutions. This is a war crime,” Makary said in a post on X.

 

The Committee to Protect Journalists said it was appalled by the attack, and called for an independent investigation and for the perpetrators to be held to account.

The CPJ is “deeply outraged by yet another deadly Israeli airstrike on journalists,” said its program director Carlos Martinez de la Serna, adding that “deliberately targeting journalists is a war crime under international law.”

“I used to go to conflict zones in the past and journalists were received by all parties with open arms,” said Mohamad Chebaro, a British-Lebanese journalist with over 25 years of experience covering war, terrorism, defense, current affairs and diplomacy.

But “I have been increasingly witnessing the polarization of journalism” by companies or political parties wherein journalists are seen as being “with or against” entities — whether that is a corporation or a country, he told Arab News.

Chebaro explained that “warring parties” feel the need to have their own “media machine,” which makes independent journalism a rare concept. And so “killing the messenger has become easy for every party trying to control the narrative of every conflict.”

He added: “Lebanon is no different than Gaza. Gaza is no different than Syria. And Syria is no different than Iran before it.”

On Monday, Lebanon submitted a complaint to the Security Council “regarding the latest Israeli attacks that targeted journalists and media facilities in Hasbaya in south Lebanon, and the Ouzai area” in Beirut’s southern suburbs, according to the Foreign Ministry on X.

“The repeated Israeli targeting of media crews is a war crime,” and Israel must be “held to account and punished,” the statement added.

Over 400 media workers and journalists from international news organizations have condemned Israel’s attacks on Palestinian journalists in Gaza in a letter released on Oct. 30.

The letter also addresses the escalation of attacks on journalists in Lebanon. It called for the immediate medical evacuations of all injured journalists, protection of those who remain, and fair reporting on Gaza and the condition of Palestinian media workers there.

“We affirm that no one is more qualified to report and deliver the news from Gaza than local journalists, and it is the professional and personal duty of all journalists and media institutions to ensure their protection,” the letter added.

The attack on journalists is in many ways an attack on journalism and the truth, Chebaro said.

He added: “Human beings are not respected in the theater of war anymore. There is a breakdown of the respect and the sanctity of the job of a journalist.

“And unfortunately, we have gone away from the old ethos of looking at a journalist as an independent informing voice.”

As of Oct. 31, the CPJ’s preliminary investigations showed at least 134 journalists and media workers were among those killed in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel, and Lebanon since Oct. 7, 2023.

This makes it the deadliest period for journalists since the CPJ began gathering data in 1992.