Democracy under surveillance

There are high chances of abuse of any future laws on snooping.

It’s hard to argue against measures to strengthen national security and sovereignty. This is why autocrats the world over lean on such hallowed concepts to impose draconian laws. The problem is that acts that undermine national interests are often hard to pin down. In a democracy, people have freedoms of speech and privacy—something also guaranteed by the Nepali constitution. Yet in democracies around the world—from India to Turkey to the US—people’s basic rights are being undercut under the pretext of protecting national interest. The rulers in all these countries seem minded to maintain absolute control over state affairs and to stifle dissent and opposition views. We see the same trend in Nepal where, over the years, successive governments have tried to stifle free speech. One way they have tried to do so is by snooping on people’s phone and online conversations.