India Launches Tracking System for All Calls, SMS Correspondence and Internet Activity

Over the past month, Indian authorities have been launching a government system to monitor all aspects of citizens' telecommunications, including their Internet activity, SMS correspondence, and phone calls.

“A central monitoring system” is designed to ensure security in the country, writes The Verge, citing The Times of India. Although the government promised not to go beyond the bounds of the law, it still has not specified what types of conversations it intends to control and under what circumstances it will monitor them.

India spent a little less than $ 7.4 million on a system that has been in development since 2009. In the past, the government did not hesitate to apply web censorship, demanding the removal and preview of content from companies such as Google.

Although the “Central Monitoring System” is supposedly designed to combat terrorism, the threat of constant monitoring does not bode well for the freedom of the Internet and telecom in the country. According to The Times of India, the system is already in preliminary mode, and its full launch should take place in August 2014.