The internet has brought as many anxieties as it has advantages. Even though the internet appears to be a decentralized system, who actually holds the \u201cweb-strings\u201d remains a mystery. Born in an American military lab, the internet hasn\u2019t truly severed its American roots to gain total independence. Through most global \u201cservices,\u201d American spy agencies remain active, enjoying \u201cbackdoor\u201d entry into vast storehouses of information. Your Gmail and Yahoo messages aren\u2019t known only to you; like a letter written on a postcard, they are visible to the respective companies. Spying agencies, too, have the opportunity to read and copy them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is well known that years ago, Edward Snowden revealed how all \u201csocial media\u201d platforms were working in tandem with the NSA (National Security Agency) under Project PRISM. These companies were collecting the complete jaataka<\/em> (horoscope\/life-history) of users and handing it over to the NSA. Today, from Big Tech and web hosting companies to AI firms, social media, the SWIFT payment network, undersea cables, mobile networks, and even the operating systems of modern cars\u2014everything carries the \u201cinfection\u201d of American espionage. There are reports of official spies working inside many of these companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Be aware: the most important role in Big Tech today isn\u2019t just the engineer; it\u2019s the Behavioral Psychologist. They play the lead role in crafting algorithms. Their job is to make a service feel \u201cinevitable,\u201d to ensure you never lose interest once you sign up, and to trap you in a state of helpless addiction. They are designed to make you say \u201cyes\u201d to providing details you initially withheld. The world\u2019s sharpest minds are working day and night to bring you to this state of dependency\u2014and that is why they are paid massive salaries. Digital addiction has become like drug addiction.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Here is a small proof that this \u201cillicit affair\u201d (which is quite direct) continues: Recently, the U.S. government made it mandatory for anyone applying for a visa to provide all social media handles used in the last five years. Even if you have deleted an account, you must provide the details! If not, you are disqualified from ever getting a visa. Let\u2019s set aside the \u201cnational security\u201d justification for a moment. What we must observe is how providing a username hands over your entire jaataka<\/em> to the U.S. government. Even if an account is deleted, your posts, locations, likes, family details, and purchase history are transferred. It highlights how social media companies still work hand-in-glove with American agencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some argue that these companies didn\u2019t just join American agencies; rather, the agencies are the reason for their birth and growth\u2014created specifically to harvest the world\u2019s data. There is indirect evidence for this. One Google or Apple ID is enough to track your movements, private affairs, and every activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Realizing this, China followed the American path and went even further. Most of the world\u2019s CCTV cameras and phones are Chinese. Every face captured is transferred to Chinese agencies. They have mapped out details to the point where a spy\u2019s computer can identify any person walking on a street! While we are wary of Chinese spying, we don\u2019t seem bothered by the Americans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the era of espionage. No one can escape the eyes and ears of the spies. In the name of national security, this has become somewhat inevitable. For instance, your Aadhaar data and UPI financial details are instantly available to relevant authorities. While tolerating some \u201charmless\u201d data transfer within the limits of our own country\u2019s laws and courts is a \u201cnecessary karma\u201d of these times, what kind of karma<\/em> is it to hand over everything to foreign companies and spies, knowingly or unknowingly?<\/p>\n\n\n\n India now has nearly 100 crore (1 billion) internet users. How many are aware of data privacy? Most have a \u201cdevil-may-care\u201d attitude, saying, \u201cWhat do I have to hide? If they ask, I\u2019ll tell them myself.\u201d The necessity of internet services has psychologically conditioned people to believe that these risks aren\u2019t risks at all. \u201cI have nothing to hide\u201d has become a collective mental state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Be aware: the most important role in Big Tech today isn\u2019t just the engineer; it\u2019s the Behavioral Psychologist. They play the lead role in crafting algorithms. Their job is to make a service feel \u201cinevitable,\u201d to ensure you never lose interest once you sign up, and to trap you in a state of helpless addiction. They are designed to make you say \u201cyes\u201d to providing details you initially withheld. The world\u2019s sharpest minds are working day and night to bring you to this state of dependency\u2014and that is why they are paid massive salaries. Digital addiction has become like drug addiction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Furthermore, you might have used a Gmail ID as your \u201cofficial ID\u201d for years, giving it to offices and linking it to Aadhaar. In our country, even official government business often happens over Gmail and WhatsApp! Our officials (and ministers) haven\u2019t yet shown the \u201cwisdom\u201d to create and use a dedicated, indigenous official email network. It doesn\u2019t cost much, but ignorance and apathy hold us back. Even if you want to change your digital ID now, the practical hurdles are huge. You have been pushed into a massive pit from which it\u2019s hard to climb out. Before Gmail, there were many indigenous services; providers like VSNL offered email. Now, everyone is on Gmail. To climb out of this pit, we first need awareness of the reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To some, medical reports, loan details, court matters, and photos might not feel like \u201cprivate info.\u201d Some may feel their household matters are public property. \u201cWho is interested in me?\u201d they ask. True, the CIA or NSA doesn\u2019t have the time to look into a specific \u201cThimmadasayya\u201d (common man). Their interest is in Big Data. Analyzing the life details of 1 billion Indians is what matters to foreign powers. While \u201cMacro Information\u201d is more valuable to them, they can easily dig up Thimmadasayya\u2019s jaataka<\/em> whenever they wish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Technology control and data collection are today\u2019s most vital geopolitical weapons. When the Russia-Ukraine war began, Russia was kicked out of the SWIFT network. The U.S. banned Kaspersky antivirus, alleging it spies for Russia, while Russia suspects American software like Norton or McAfee are tools for the U.S. The CEO of Telegram was arrested in Europe. It is now common to promote tech companies that serve your interests and attack those that don\u2019t. In India, apart from a few banned Chinese apps, all other companies are comfortably harvesting data. We don\u2019t have our own operating system (the military has one). We have no choice but Windows, macOS, or Android. Even though BharOS was developed, no one uses it. The award-winning \u2018Ulaa\u2019 browser has few takers. We have a few domestic mobile companies, but no domestic chipsets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Military tech alone isn\u2019t enough. For national security, our daily-use technology must be entirely our own (Atmanirbhar). Our data must stay in our country\u2014that is Data Localization. It must be under our control\u2014that is Data Sovereignty. India has made laws for this, but the tragedy is that most large Indian internet firms work in partnership with American Big Tech or have foreign investment. Fully indigenous companies like Zoho Corporation are rare. Whether it is our government or our companies, our personal details should not be in the hands of others. Our data must stay with us. That is Data Privacy. It is our right. In 2017, the Supreme Court recognized it as a Fundamental Right.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It is well known that years ago, Edward Snowden revealed how all \u201csocial media\u201d platforms were working in tandem with the NSA (National Security Agency) under Project PRISM. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4309,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[75],"tags":[205,85,86,143],"class_list":["post-52","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-security-intelligence","tag-espionage","tag-nsa","tag-surveillance","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bharatreview.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bharatreview.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bharatreview.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bharatreview.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bharatreview.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=52"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bharatreview.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bharatreview.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=52"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bharatreview.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=52"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bharatreview.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=52"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n