The Rise of Nanny state : Sibal brings out rules to track every mobile user

[anonymus]

Soon, govt will keep track of where every mobile user is​

The government is looking to track all mobile phone users.
As per amendments made to operators’ licences, beginning May 31, operators would have to provide the Department of Telecommunications real-time details of users’ locations in latitudes and longitudes.

Documents obtained by The Indian Express show that details shall initially be provided for mobile numbers specified by the government. Within three years, service providers will have to provide information on locations of all users.

The information will have some margin of error at first. But by 2013, at least 60 per cent of the calls in urban areas would have to be accurately tracked when made 100 metres away from the nearest cell tower. By 2014, the government will seek to increase the proportion to 75 per cent in cities and 50 per cent in suburban and rural areas.

For calls made 300 metres from the nearest cell tower, accurate coordinates will be required for 95 per cent in cities and 60 per cent in towns and villages at the end of two years.

The changes in licence terms also include making service providers completely responsible for the security of their networks. Licence holders would pay a fine of Rs 50 crore for any breach of security. The government can also start criminal proceedings for a breach.

The planned increase in mobile phone surveillance comes as the DoT sets up a centralised monitoring system (CMS) to tap mobile phones instantly. “In the existing system, secrecy can be easily compromised due to manual intervention while in CMS these functions will be performed on secured electronic links,” Sachin Pilot, MoS, Communications and IT, told Parliament recently.

New telecom policy Highlights

* All future licences will be unified licences allowing mobile service providers to operate across the country with a single permit.

* Spectrum will be delinked from licence, and will be obtained separately.

* The validity of existing licences may be extended for 10 years at a time.

* Need for transferring spectrum from some government departments “accepted in principle”.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/soon-govt-will-keep-track-of-where-every-mobile-user-is/912681/0

 

[anonymus]

Salman Khurshid: Election Commission is under Administrative control of his ministry

After a show-cause from the Election Commission for “violating the model code of conduct” in Uttar Pradesh, Union Law and Justice Minister Salman Khurshid has again landed himself in a controversy with it.

This time, the EC is writing to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh taking strong exception to Mr. Khurshid's comment that the Commission came under the administrative control of the Law Ministry.

“This letter by Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi, which is drafted but yet to be sent, has nothing to do with the ongoing election process and we just wanted to stress the independence and autonomous stature of our constitutional body,” a senior EC official told The Hindu on Thursday. He described the Minister's comment as “wishful thinking.”

In a recent interview to a private TV channel, Mr. Khurshid reportedly said the Centre possessed some sort of administrative control over the EC and cited the example of the Law Ministry signing crucial documents when one of its Commissioners went abroad for a vacation. Mr. Khurshid was referring to Team Anna's reservations about the Centre gaining some sort of control over the CBI under the new Lokpal Bill that was passed by the Lok Sabha.

“If the Law Ministry thinks it can control the Commission through foreign tours, it is sadly mistaken,” the EC official said, adding the “Law Ministry serves just like a post-office ... only the President approves EC foreign tours,” he said.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2796691.ece

 

[Splurgenxs]

so whats the fuss? People need to seriously rethink there priorities.

I think its good step to patch up the loopholes and vulnerabilities in the Indian National security.

People may not agree with this on the surface of things ...
But one should ask how is it harmful?

 

[anonymus]

Facebook, Google, others face charges in India
By ASHOK SHARMA, Associated Press – 17 hours ago
NEW DELHI (AP) — For the first time, Indian prosecutors are taking Google, Yahoo, Facebook and other networking sites to court for refusing to remove material considered insulting to Indian leaders and major religious figures.
Government officials are upset about material insulting to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, ruling Congress party leader Sonia Gandhi and major religious figures. Some illustrations have shown Singh and Gandhi in compromising positions and pigs running through Mecca, Islam's holiest city.
On Friday, the federal government told a New Delhi court that there was sufficient material to proceed against 21 social networking sites for offenses of "promoting enmity between classes and causing prejudice to national integration," according to the Press Trust of India news agency.
The cases, which PTI said name companies including Google, Facebook, Yahoo and Microsoft, represent a new risk of doing business in the nation of more than 1 billion people, which is looking to technology to boost its economy and standard of living. The dispute highlights India's difficulty in balancing the Internet culture of freewheeling discourse with its homegrown religious and political sensitivities.
Convictions could bring fines and up to five years' imprisonment, through prosecutors have named only the companies involved rather than any executives. Metropolitan Magistrate Sudesh Kumar on Friday asked India's External Affairs Ministry to serve summons to officials of foreign-based companies for court appearances March 13.
In December, Telecommunications Minister Kapil Sibal said he had spoken repeatedly with officials from major Internet companies over the past three months and asked them to come up with a voluntary framework to keep offensive material off the Internet. He said that the companies told him there was nothing they could do.
There was no immediate comment by the networking sites after Friday's court proceedings.
However, Facebook said last month that it would remove content that "is hateful, threatening, incites violence or contains nudity."
Google said in a December statement that it removes content that violates local law and its own standards.
"But when content is legal and doesn't violate our policies, we won't remove it just because it's controversial, as we believe that people's differing views, so long as they're legal, should be respected and protected," Google said in a statement in December.
Sibal had shown reporters Web illustrations showing Singh and Gandhi in compromising positions as well as a site showing pigs running through Islam's holy city of Mecca, a clear insult to Muslims.
Sibal said the Internet companies had told him that they were applying U.S. standards to their sites, and he objected, saying that they needed to be sensitive to Indian sensibilities.
Copyright © 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

 

[kaykay]

^^
this is funny..........if someone is monkey then he must be shown as monkey....and anyway monkeys don't complain....

websits are showing what they are.....

and sorry if anyone feels insulted....nothing personal though.

 

[anonymus]

so whats the fuss? People need to seriously rethink there priorities.

I think its good step to patch up the loopholes and vulnerabilities in the Indian National security.

People may not agree with this on the surface of things ...
But one should ask how is it harmful?

It is not harmful until intention of government are honest ie that of maintaining security.

But what if the Party in power use it to hunt down it's opponents?

Could it be guaranteed that the Emergency would never be claimed again?

Could this law along with subversion of EC not be used for imposing dictatorship by stealth?

Also believing in self regulation by authorities is Harmful and it cannot be guaranteed that they would behave in most impeccable manner.

 

[Screambowl]

tracking mobile is being done since long when required or when it's a high alert scenario, nothing new. Only call details should not be tampered.

 

[anonymus]

tracking mobile is being done since long when required or when it's a high alert scenario, nothing new. Only call details should not be tampered.

Currently mobiles could be tracked by triangulation but there is no automatic facility to track mobiles of whole of the population in real time.Government today requires a warrant to track a mobile.

 

[Splurgenxs]

It is not harmful until intention of government are honest ie that of maintaining security.

But what if the Party in power use it to hunt down it's opponents?

Could it be guaranteed that the Emergency would never be claimed again?

Could this law along with subversion of EC not be used for imposing dictatorship by stealth?

Also believing in self regulation by authorities is Harmful and it cannot be guaranteed that they would behave in most impeccable manner.

very valid point..but here what i think about most points of contention,

Indian law states very clearly on the procedure of disclosing personal data.2011 Indian Privacy Law | Outsourcing Law

many counter measures have been put in place to prevent misuse and only in the case of national security can such data be disclosed.

on the point about misuse to promote self interests..
this power in nothing special..

they can do this by other means too and many other countries have been doing this for years.

and all those who need to remain protected can and have many alternate high end solutions tht encrypt and spoof ur calls through other locations.

India was doing this with other telecom services much earlier...its only blackberry and some other companies tht have only recently being coerced into such changes .

 

[Jason bourne]

even my iphone shows where my friend is govt ne kya tir mar liya isme

 

[T90TankGuy]

the govt is justified in doing what ever it need to ensure our safety as a nation . if it means infringing on some of my personal right so be it .
after all there are a lot of people who blame the government ever time there is a terrorist attack . why ask them to fight it with one hand tied behind their back? let them have all they need.


i doubt the govt will find me attending a coffee shop interesting.

 

[Tshering22]

Wonderful.... days of Congress are numbered in Indian politics. I see the Hand falling down and vanishing into the pages of history as the worst chapter of our ancient country.

This idiot Sibal is doing the job of what opposition must be doing.

 

[harpoon]

I someone is asking to do it legally , rest assured someone is already doing it illegally.

Anyways with so much snooping techniques going on , nowonder the founding fathers of US gave right to bear arms to their citizens and told them to be ready to fight oppressive powers evenif its their own govt.

 

[Kinetic]

Looks like this govt has problem with everyone, EC, Army, industry, state govts .............. this is nonsense. Never happened in India. they may understood their time is over.


I have a better idea for Mr Sibal and Congress..... Let make a law to keep CCD cameras at every home, specially bedrooms and toilets. every person must keep his/her mobile on dialing govt numbers whenever, wherever they are talking.

You may be talking with your girlfriend, Mr Sibal need to listen if anything against 'the law'. You may be crying after your father died, Mr Sibal need to listen because if there is anything against 'national security'. You may be using slangs while talking with your friends, but Mr. Sibal need to monitor this if you ever mentioned anyone from the family. lol

Babies below 1.5 years are special exception.

 

[ZABASHO]

Under Congress, RJD, Mayawati and all others, even BJP, India has been left to be a democracy just in name for elections and vote bank. Most of the laws we have or are introducing are curbing people's rights. Not sure if thats what democracy was supposed to mean.
But again our diplomatic babus...... "RTI"