Delhi HC seeks Centre’s stand on plea against mobile spyware
India Today
The judge also sought response from Google and certain spyware sellers on the petition which seeks a direction to the Centre to stop the sale, operation and advertisement of such spyware.
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday sought the Centre’s stand on a petition highlighting the invasion of privacy of mobile phone users by spyware tools that monitor and record information.
Justice V Kameswar Rao issued a notice on the petitioner by Dimple Vivek, a lawyer, who argued that mobile spyware or malware was a serious threat to mobile phone users who are placed under “total surveillance”.
The judge also sought a response from Google and certain spyware sellers on the petition which seeks a direction to the Centre to stop the sale, operation and advertisement of such spyware.
The petitioner has also sought directions to the Centre to regulate such spyware.
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Women were the primary victims of illegal spyware which is “capable of capturing significant amount of highly personal information” such as location tracking, monitoring text messages, calls, photos and camera, the petition said.
“Spyware or stalker ware refers to tools apps, software programs, and devices that let another person (such as an abuser/Spy/stalker etc) secretly monitor and record information about phone activity. The term ‘stalkerware’ is a more recent term that draws attention to the invasive, intrusive, and dangerous misuse of these tools,” it said.
