With A Centralized System, Indian Government Wants To Monitor The Internet

India ranks second in the list of world's biggest Internet markets, according to Mary Meeker Internet Trends 2019 Report. The Indian government is considering the idea of setting up a Centralised Monitoring System (CMS) to monitor the country's internet traffic as well as telecom network.

CMS is currently available in Mumbai and Delhi. The government is planning to expand it to other regions in the country, integrating different network service providers into the system. Currently, India has a total of 21 regional monitoring systems operating throughout all the telecom circles.

The order calls for the monitoring and interception of the Internet network, landlines, and mobile phones are sprawling across India. The integration of a monitoring system will get rid of the telecom operators’ role and enable electronic provisioning of everything related to communication lines.

The system development will be carried out in phases. This monitoring system will act like a state agency between digital law enforcement and target lines. If there are any national security problems as well as allied issues, the federal structure will help in securing the communication flow in real-time.

The idea to centrally store communication data was initially raised following the terror attacks in Mumbai in 2008. And with the monitoring system, income tax officials can access the telecom of the country. This is how it works – all data that is intercepted by the TSPs (Telecom Service Providers) will be transmitted to the monitoring system. Only the governmental officials will be able to access the monitoring system and therefore, they no longer need network service providers for that access.

So the problem is whether this violates the right to privacy. Media outlets have voiced their concerns about the disadvantages of the CMS over the past few years, viewing it as a violation of the citizen's privacy and other human rights. But the authorities keep on claiming that the monitoring system will secure the individuals’ privacy better. However, a country where the levels of corruption are dramatically increasing cannot guarantee the above claims with its uncontrolled surveillance scheme. Additionally, before the implementation, no public consultation or parliamentary discourse has been organized.