Centre's 'Snooping Scheme': 4 Years, 7 Attempts

Ever since the CambridgeAnalytica scandal broke, focus has intensified on the governments - and political parties - turning to private companies that can eavesdrop on our online conversations for political influence. At the time, the government had attacked Congress for trying to use CambridaAnalytica, a company that has faced a firestorm of criticism for harvesting Facebook data - perhaps illegally - to try and shape political outcomes. But the government itself has been found trying to snoop on social media useage of individuals. Ever since the BJP-led government came to power, it has made seven attempts in all to monitor social media profiles of individuals. The entire exercise has been shrouded in secrecy. There has been no attempt to notify the public or seek consent. There is nothing on goverment sites either. NDTV contacted all the involved ministries for queries but did not get a response.