NEW DELHI: Flagging grave concerns of right to privacy with regards to the snooping row, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday seeking accountability from the concerned authorities into the flagrant breach of law and constitutional freedom.
A political row erupted on Tuesday after several opposition leaders including Moitra, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi and many others received alerts from Apple about “state-sponsored attackers trying to remotely compromise” their iPhones.
Referring to the Pegasus spyware scandal, Moitra said that the latest threat is doubly shocking in light of the Pegasus software — sold only to governments and was used to compromise the devices of various members of the Opposition, dissenting journalists and members of civil society during 2019-2021.
She further said that international organisations like Access Now and Citizen Lab, in September 2023, have confirmed the validity of Apple’s threat notifications and lend it enormous credibility. “In March 2023, reports in the Financial Times stated that the Indian government is potentially escalating its budget for spyware contracts to $120 million involving companies like Intellexa Alliance, featured in a report on government spying called ‘The Predator Files’,” the MP said. This “illegal surveillance by the government” is the worst attack on fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution, she said.