(a) whether national or international agencies are authorised to monitor and decrypt any digital information including Whatsapp conversations and if so, the details thereof;
(b) whether any guidelines have been/are being issued by the Government to these national or international agencies in order to protect citizens’ constitutionally guaranteed right to privacy and to prevent abuse of power during the exercise of intelligence gathering; and
(c) if so, the details thereof?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS
(SHRI AJAY KUMAR MISHRA)
(a) to (c): Only authorized law enforcement agencies in the country, are empowered to intercept, monitor or decrypt or cause to be intercepted or monitored or decrypted, any information generated, transmitted, received or stored in any computer resource as per legal provisions of section 69 of the Information Technology Act, 2000. The safeguards and review mechanism have also been prescribed in the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Interception, Monitoring and Decryption of Information) Rules, 2009, and the Standard Operating Procedure issued for the purpose.
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