New Delhi: The issue connected with Internet privacy echoed in the Supreme Court on Wednesday, as it pondered over the matter that if the government were to read all the messages exchanged through various modes of communication, there might not be any privacy.
A bench headed by NV Ramana was hearing the submissions of senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, challenging the restrictions imposed on Internet in the Kashmir Valley, which has affected the livelihood of traders and common people.
The Centre has justified the restriction on the Internet, citing social media platforms being used to serve the interest of a section of people seeking to propagate anti-state sentiments.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, on Tuesday, said that terrorists use social media as a weapon.
The court asked Sibal, "You appear for WhatsApp in some cases, can government ban it in a particular area? "
Sibal replied that it is a constitutional question, and the messages are end to end encrypted.
"WhatsApp can't see messages, one can only send messages to five recipients at a time," said Sibal.
The court then asked about various groups on WhatsApp and whether they would end up being used as a platform to send out messages. It further questioned whether Sibal was saying that there should not have been any restriction on the Internet at all?
Sibal replied that it was "one to one communication, like a telephone."
The court observed that one to one submission in Internet communication is not correct.
"If I have an e-mail id, then I can send an e-mail to thousands," said a judge on the bench. Mehta said it is one to thousand.
Sibal replied that the government can temporarily ban WhatsApp in a given situation and that it should be done.
Justice Ramana then asked whether it could be done technically?
Sibal said China had already done it, and then mentioned about National Technical Research Organisation, a technical intelligence agency under the National Security Advisor in the Prime Minister's Office.
"There are organisations in our country that can read what you do, for instance, NTRO that has the same mandate as IB," he added.
Justice Ramana asked, "So are you saying there is no privacy?"
Sibal replied that it should not be there in matters of national security, and insisted that platforms like WhatsApp do not compromise privacy.
Earlier, during the hearing, the Solicitor General told the apex court that the location of the user id can be camouflaged.
"It can be shown to be anywhere in the world, be it Malaysia or Tanzania." Sibal said, on terrorism, we are on the side of the establishment, but it cannot be an argument to paralyse the lives of seven million people in the region.
He added that technology has to be balanced out, and cited the example of nuclear energy. "This technology was used in Hiroshima, but we use for electricity," he said.
He contended that abnormal conditions have been induced through restrictions. "The submissions on Kashmir is not about the past instead but about the future, and the state should not muzzle the voice of common people," he added.
Sibal also highlighted instances of technology misuse. "Morphed images of me and my wife with beef in hand are being circulated for the past 5 years, but we cannot do anything about it. The question is can everything be banned because of that?" he added.
