Big Brother Is All Ears: India Proposes What Snowden Discloses

India’s Department of Telecom, has posted a new telecommunications licensing agreement with controls that echo those of the US National Security Agency. The Telegraph in Calcutta reports: “The 176-page document that was placed on the DoT’s website on Friday evening has never explicitly spelt out in such great detail the manner in which the government can access call records of private citizens, deepening privacy concerns in a country where such invasions have always been suspected.” The agreement requires operators “to “provide necessary facilities… to the government to counteract espionage, subversive acts, sabotage or any other unlawful activity.” The agreement suggests that investigations may focus on outgoing calls, subscribers who make large numbers of calls, and subscribers with more than 10 connections. Data will be kept for one year, caller identification will be mandatory, and providers will be required to provide location details of callers for emergency purposes. – YaleGlobal