India Wants Tech Platforms To Break Encryption And Remove Content The Government Thinks Is "Unlawful" It is not clear whether India will now choose to be a leader in privacy or mass surveillance, sources told BuzzFeed News December 25, 2018 https://www.buzzfeednews.com/articl...tech-platforms-to-break-encryption-and-remove Proposed rules (PDF): http://meity.gov.in/writereaddata/files/Draft_Intermediary_Amendment_24122018.pdf
India's top court seeks govt response on plans to snoop on citizens' computers January 14, 2019 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...-to-snoop-on-citizens-computers-idUSKCN1P80D2
Explaining the rationale behind the order, India’s IT minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad, said the measure was undertaken in the interests of national security. He added that some form of “tapping” has already been going on in the country for a number of years and that the new order would help bring structure to that process. “Always remember one thing,” he said in a televised interview. “Even in the case of a particular individual, the interception order shall not be effective unless affirmed by the Home Secretary.” ~ op cit I always worry whenever the term New Order (Neuordnung) is used, whatever the context lol.
The words "Home Secretary" also send a chill up my spine. In the UK, the approval of warrants by politicians has been found to contravene HR legislation in the IPA, as widely predicted.
This phrasing seeks to reassure, by implying that said government official will review every interception order personally. But of course, the " Home Secretary" is a bloody office, with numerous staff and computers. So "affirmed by the Home Secretary" basically comes down to a database query.
