Trinamool Congress (TMC) Member of Parliament (MP) Mahua Moitra expressed her concerns to India Today on Wednesday, November 1, labeling the central government as a "government that invades privacy" following the receipt of Apple warnings regarding "state-sponsored attack" attempts on their iPhones by several opposition leaders, including herself.
In her exclusive conversation with India Today, Moitra emphasized the seriousness of the privacy breach, stating that anyone who dares to voice dissent against the current government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is susceptible to being targeted.
Moitra, who is currently at the center of the political debate regarding the cash-for-query scandal, took the initiative to write a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday, addressing the matter of the Apple warning. Sharing her communication on X (formerly Twitter), she described it as a "serious issue of surveillance on opposition members, which violates constitutional freedoms and the rule of law."
When questioned about the BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya's claim of a connection between the Apple warning and George Soros, Moitra responded by saying that the accusation "elicits laughter." Soros, a Jewish philanthropist, and American billionaire had previously expressed critical views on Adani and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the context of the Adani-Hindenburg dispute earlier this year.
Moitra emphasized that even if Soros had funded 'Access Now,' which the BJP asserted to be a left-leaning digital advocacy group, it wouldn't change the fundamental issue. She argued that the key point is that Apple, a reputed technology company, had issued the alerts. According to Moitra, Apple's devices are renowned for their security, as the company consistently updates its technology to protect user information. Therefore, if Apple sends out a warning, it carries credibility.
It is worth noting that Apple's warning had been disseminated to politicians and individuals in more than 150 countries, although the company acknowledged that alerts can sometimes trigger false alarms.
In the two-page letter addressed to Om Birla, Moitra referred to the Apple warning as "doubly shocking," particularly in light of the Pegasus software case from 2019-2021. She cited international organizations such as 'Access Now' and 'Citizen Lab that had verified and provided support for Apple's threat notifications in the previous month.
Moitra characterized the government's surveillance practices using software available solely to state actors as the most severe infringement on the fundamental rights guaranteed by India's Constitution, which upholds the principles of democracy. She further pointed out that over the past few years, opposition leaders and voices of dissent have been subject to targeted attacks.
