India's Surveillance State

Presented at 30C3 (2013), Dec. 29, 2013, 11:30 a.m. (60 minutes)

India is currently implementing some of the scariest surveillance schemes in the world. This lecture will shed light on India's surveillance industry, its UID scheme which aims at the collection of all biometric data and on various controversial surveillance schemes, such as the Central Monitoring System (CMS).

When it comes to surveillance, the most mainstream argument is that the majority of India's population lives below the poverty line and that surveillance is an elitist issue - and not a "real" issue which affects the masses.

Given that the majority of India's population has mobile phones and that the Indian government is currently implementing the Central Monitoring System (CMS) which aims at intercepting all telecommunications (and Internet communications), surveillance does not appear to be an elitist issue. Given that the UID scheme aims at collecting the biometric data of all citizens residing in India and that most BPL cash programmes require UID registration, surveillance appears to be an issue which (unfortunately) affects the 1.2 billion people currently living in India. And this is to say the least.

As part of the Privacy Project, the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) in Bangalore, India, is investigating surveillance within the country. The project is funded by Privacy International and aims to map out various forms of surveillance in India, ranging from drones, CCTV cameras and GPS tracking equipment to phone and Internet monitoring gear.

This lecture aims to present the research that Maria Xynou has undertaken at the CIS so far, which includes data on the various surveillance technology companies operating in India and the type of spy gear they sell to Indian law enforcement agencies. This research also includes the presentation of India's various controversial surveillance schemes, with an emphasis on the Central Monitoring System (CMS) which unlawfully enables the interception of all telecommunications and Internet communications.

India is currently implementing the world's largest biometric data collection and interception of communications schemes. The aim of this lecture is to present India's scary mass surveillance and to discuss its implications on the right to privacy and other human rights.


Presenters:

  • Maria Xynou
    Maria is a Policy Associate on the Privacy Project at the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) in Bangalore, India. She has previously interned with Privacy International and with the Parliament of Greece. Maria holds a Masters of Science (MSc) in Security Studies from the University College London (UCL). Maria is currently working with the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS) on the Privacy Project in Bangalore, India. As part of this project, she has attended and co-organised multi-stakeholder roundtable meetings for the discussion of the draft Privacy (Protection) Bill 2013 and is investigating surveillance in India. In particular, she is investigating the surveillance industry and surveillance schemes in India and is also doing research on India's UID scheme. In the past, she has undertaken research on surveillance with Privacy International and while in the U.S and in China. Driven by her fear that surveillance will be globally integrated in societies to the extent that promoters of freedom will be treated as terrorists, Maria is fascinated by living in different countries and by exploring surveillance on a global level, with the hope that she will be able to help create a world free from suspicion.

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