India Internet News
Govt: Social Networking Websites Will Not Be Left Unmonitored
15 July 2011
On Wednesday, Indian government announced that social networking websites must meet the security agencies' requirement for a real-time supervision of their user information to make sure that national security is not compromised.
With the violent dispute about the security problems on BlackBerry in the background, the Minister of State for Telecom and IT, Sachin Pilot, stated that the security departments have asked the Telecom Ministry to get real-time supervision of different social networking websites such as Facebook, Google, Skype and Twitter, among others.
He also stated in an international conference organized by the US-based IT giant AMD, "We cant afford to take chances with national security. There are a whole list of companies that have been asked to give (access), provide monitoring solution, because law enforcement agencies, the home ministry and intelligence agencies want information for national security." When reporters inquired about government notices sent to Google and Skype, he replied "Papers were exchanged months ago...the discussions are on and we are looking at finding a solution soon, since it is a matter of national security."
The minister ensures that the government will not leave any loop holes that might harm national security.
The Managing Director of AMD (India), Ravi Swaminathan added that, "We believe that forums like these create a platform for the industry to come together and address relevant societal issues. Technology has given rise to the awareness and aspirations of many and at the same time is playing the role of an enabler for governance and regulating ethical issues."
Pointing towards the international conference 'Ethics, Governance and Technology', conducted by AMD and an industry chamber, Pilot informed that the government will soon declare an IT policy that addresses about piracy and financial frauds. According to Swaminathan, computing has shifted beyond increasing clock speeds to improving experiences and has become a catalyst for improving efficiencies, timeliness and responsiveness in service delivery. Being a spokesman of the technology industry at this event, AMD repeats its words to maintain at the core of simplifying technology, deploying innovation to create technology affordable and inclusive.
The BlackBerry service provider located in Canada, Research in Motion, was asked to provide an interception solution by government about its BlackBerry Internet Services (BIS), BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) and BlackBerry Enterprise Servers (BES) for security concerns that terrorists may use these services as the data is highly encrypted and security agencies could not supervise such services.
Earlier this year Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) bought Skype to deliver telephony services over the Internet; whereas Google delivers a host of services such as search and e-mail.