'Pegasus Surveillance': RSS Ideologue KN Govindacharya Moves SC Seeking NIA Investigation Against Whatsapp, Facebook, NSO Group [Read Petition]

Former RSS ideologue KN Govindacharya has moved the Apex Court seeking NIA Investigation and lodging of FIR against Facebook, WhatsApp, NSO Group under the provisions of the Information Technology Act and Indian Penal Code for violating fundamental privacy of Indians.

Govindacharya also seeks perjury proceedings against WhatsApp for deliberately misleading the Court by claiming that users data is fully encrypted and no one including WhatsApp has the key.

As an interim measure, he also sought to restrain Government from using Pegasus for surveillance purposes. Govindacharya in his petition has sought protection and enforcement of the fundamental right to privacy which he alleges us being violated by illegal surveillance by Applications like WhatsApp and internet companies.

He stated that WhatsApp revealed that its systems were hacked by NSO group, an Israeli intelligence company, compromising many of the intermediary's crores of Indian users.

It has been further submitted that several government agencies, including the police, are present on social media platforms like WhatsApp. Data of Indians, including these government agencies, which are stored in systems, which have been compromised end up endangering national security. Facebook's admission before US district court that it integrates users' data for commercial gains, in addition to handling digital security of its group companies has also been cited to show in Cambridge Analytica how the top nine internet companies of the world shared data with agencies of American intelligence, and that Facebook's systems were used to influence elections across the world, including India. The submission through this example is to show that either internet companies are partners in crime or sell data of users themselves, which violates users' privacy and in turn endangers lives.

Citing initial reports, he expresses concerns that mobile phones of 17 Indians were compromised through Pegasus software.

Having submitted the above, the petitioner has prayed the apex court for a direction to the government to stop any surveillance through Pegasus and similar applications, and to notify the Information Technology [Intermediaries Guidelines (amendment) Rules] 2018. 

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