The central government is reportedly asking telecom operators in the country to furnish the call data records (CDR) of all mobile subscribers across several pockets of the country for specific days over the past few months. While the requests are ostensibly being made for security purposes, the developments are raising the hackles of not just privacy activists and human rights groups, but for once, even the generally-compliant telecom firms are expressing their concerns about the mass surveillance.
The actions are also raising pertinent questions about alleged violations of privacy guidelines mandated by the Supreme Court. According to an unidentified former chairperson of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), “This is most unusual … There must be a reason (given for asking CDR details), without which it is an arbitrary action and a violation of the right to privacy”.
