
Indian Prime Minister accused of spying on citizens using official app - koreanbaba
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/indian-prime-minister-narendra-modi-accused-of-spying-on-citizens-using-official-smartphone-app/ar-BBKJqpr
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shubhamjain
I can imagine the author of the original tweet grinning wide at the marvelous
stupidity of the entire media world. Just a little inspection is enough to
realize how ridiculous the whole controversy is.

The 'spying' here is nothing more than using an analytics service called
Clevertap. I haven't come across many apps/websites that didn't do so, in one
way or the other. It's a fucking industry. If tracking the activity of an
app's users would amount to spying, then I guess entire fleet of third-party
SaaS services would need to go (Mixpanel, Amplitude, Zendesk, Intercom).

~~~
OrganicMSG
>If tracking the activity of an app's users would amount to spying, then I
guess entire fleet of third-party SaaS services would need to go

If you were to explain this current behaviour to people from around 25 years
or so ago, the vast majority of them would view what is these days
euphemistically described as analytics, as definitely being a form of spying.
The fact that it has been turned into a large commercial industry does not
change what the behaviour actually is. That the NKVD was a routine part of
Soviet society didn't excuse them and the same reasoning will not excuse
modern marketing culture either.

~~~
shripadk
But people from around 25 years ago (and to this day) have always been
accustomed to this "form of spying". If you walk into a store you are
typically followed around by the store staff who are always there to help you
in case you aren't able to find something you are looking for. Technically
this is a "form of spying". But we do not protest. We instead label it
"hospitality". Once you become a "returning visitor" to the store, the store
staff get to know you really well and treat you like a VVIP. This is nothing
but analytics in the real world. It just so happens that the information
collected about you isn't as structured as the virtual world.

I guess by conflating multiple terminologies into one basket we are probably
doing ourselves a bit of disservice.

~~~
OrganicMSG
>If you walk into a store you are typically followed around by the store staff
who are always there to help you in case you aren't able to find something you
are looking for. Technically this is a "form of spying". But we do not
protest.

Two things. Firstly, it is an entirely fatuous argument to try and claim that
overly attentive shop assistants are somewhere in the same ballpark as modern
digital analytics. They are not even playing the same sport.

Secondly, please do not consider getting a job as a shop assistant here in the
UK, as overly attentive shop assistants are one of the few things that we
actually do protest bitterly about, almost to the same degree as inaccurate
weather reports, or people not properly understanding queuing.

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captn3m0
Meh. Getting hyped too much.

\- The app is actually not "official" as endorsed-by-the-government. This was
always a election-canvassing application branded as "Narendra Modi" app when
he was the candidate. This is maintained by the BJP (ruling party) alongside
their other apps.

\- The app uses Clevertap, which is also used by lots of Indian companies,
especially in the mobile world.

Nothing wrong or illegal here. For an application by a privately owned
organization in India, there are no data residency requirements either afaik.

Eliott has tweeted about finding flaws in the INC app (opposition party) as
well, but if they are similar, don't expect them to be changed.

~~~
TheArcane
Not official? I recall Modi urging his follers on his radio talk show to
download his app on multiple occassions.

~~~
captn3m0
It is not official. Modi promotes it on his own, non-official capacity. This
has gotten blurred over time, but the app is not a government application.

~~~
TheArcane
> Modi promotes it on his own, non-official capacity

Modi is the head of the Indian government. Non-official capacity in such a
position does not compute.

Imagine Merkel having a shady side business after she's done being Chancellor
for the day.

~~~
shripadk
There is nothing "shady" about the app except for that it uses analytics just
like all the other million apps out there.

------
vthallam
This is like every other Android app out there. Their biggest mistake was
choosing a company outside India to do analytics for them and not having a
good privacy policy. Apparently, the opposition would love to make this issue
as selling citizen's data to foreign companies and the BJP have to pay for it
now.

~~~
TheArcane
> This is like every other Android app out there.

Really? "asks users to provide access to as many as 22 personal features on
their devices, "

[http://indianexpress.com/article/india/namo-app-asks-for-
swe...](http://indianexpress.com/article/india/namo-app-asks-for-sweeping-
access-camera-audio-among-22-inputs-facebook-data-leak-5111353/)

~~~
vthallam
Use Analytics is a big business. As in, people make apps like battery saver or
flashlight just so they can get millions of downloads, later track the other
app usage and sell data.

Only here, they went little overboard with permissions like a flashlight. Like
why the hell one would need it. I can see why other permissions are required
though to use some of the app features.

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mkagenius
They really do not need the small scale app to do so, when they can easily
control facebook both virtually and literally.

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calvinbhai
This is news, reporting the remnants of fake news that was busted yesterday.

Sadly, its easy to unmask and bust fake news. But genuine news reporting based
on fake news, will remain to be the scourge of the new age media

------
osrec
Not sure how true the contents of the article are, however Modi was rather
pally with Mark Zuckerberg during his time in India. Read into that what you
will!

~~~
shripadk
He is like that with every top dignitary visiting India. It's just diplomacy.
Don't read too much into it.

Read this article for more such instances:
[https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/modi-s-hug-
diploma...](https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/modi-s-hug-diplomacy-
abe-to-obama-all-get-pm-s-personal-touch/story-LH5XsgtNnwH8ZQFo72BqCI.html)

~~~
osrec
I think you are reading too little into it, especially considering the impact
Facebook had on the US election.

~~~
shripadk
Your comment was about Modi and Zuckerberg not Facebook and US election.
Facebook had zero impact on Modi's election. It was anti-incumbency followed
by a strong track record of Modi as Chief Minister for 3 terms that made the
difference. On the contrary, Trump has zero track record and yet got elected
to the highest office.

~~~
osrec
I'm sorry, but are the parallels not obvious? Facebook is a tool used to
influence people. Politicians need the ability to influence people. Ergo, it
is not beyond the realms of possibility that Modi would prefer to be a friend,
rather than foe, of Facebook. Diplomacy aside, all I'm pointing out is that he
has something to gain by having Facebook on his side (at least prior to recent
events involving Facebook).

~~~
shripadk
The gain isn't significant at all. At least in comparison to that of Donald
Trump. Sure, Modi would prefer to be friends with everyone, including
Facebook. That doesn't however automatically make him liable for spying on a
billion plus Indians. That's stretching the argument too far. Just because
Facebook was used as a tool to influence people in the US doesn't mean the
same happened in India. Modi came to power purely because of the scam ridden
and corrupt regime that existed previously and his track record of 3 terms as
Chief Minister (spanning 15 years of real progress and development). Back
then, Modi was a pariah in the US. He was denied visa by the US until he
became the Prime Minister of India.

In fact, to make matters worse, Facebook's Free Basics service was outlawed by
Modi Government. If he was a friend of Facebook, he would have enacted laws
that helped Facebook. This happened after Zuckerberg's visit to India. Read
more: [https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/feb/08/india-
fac...](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/feb/08/india-facebook-
free-basics-net-neutrality-row)

