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Rajya Sabha takes up Pegasus issue

Prasad informed the House that not a single FIR has been lodged and so far his ministry has received no complaint in this matter.

New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government on Thursday asserted that the country will not compromise on its data sovereignty and it is committed to ensure safety and security of messaging on platforms like Whats-App. Electronics and IT minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad said that a WhatsApp CEO-led delegation had not mentioned about any vulnerability of their system during their meetings with the ministry, and that the government was yet to receive the names of people targeted by unnamed entities using Pegasus spyware.

Prasad made the assertion while replying to calling attention motion in the Rajya Sabha on the alleged use of spyware Pegasus to compromise phone data of some persons through WhatsApp.

He said that the government had issued a notice to Israeli technology firm NSO Group, which created Pegasus, on November 26, seeking details about the malware and its impact.

Prasad informed the House that not a single FIR has been lodged and so far his ministry has received no complaint in this matter. He said that there are adequate provisions in the IT Act to ensure the safety and security of messaging on various platforms.

Prasad also added that standard operating procedures must be followed in the interest of the nation and clarified that no unauthorised interception was done.

He said, “Digital players are welcome to contribute to the growing market of India but they have to understand that safety and security of Indians are of prime importance. ”

On the snooping issue, the minister informed that CERT-IN had sent a notice to Israel based company NSO on November 26 of this month seeking details about the malware and its impact on Indian users.

Responding to opposition queries on data protection bill, Mr Prasad said that work is in progress in that direction and the legislation will be robust in
nature.

He also took a dig on opposition members’ questions wondering why journalist, leaders and others questioning the government over reportedly snooped.

Congress leader Digvijay Singh accused the government of snooping the opposition leaders, journalists, judges who are vocal against the present regime.

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