Raising concerns over the use of spyware tech by powerful governments across the world to snoop over its political rivals and critics, the Biden led US administration has said that it does not have any special insights into the Indian situation.
While replying to a specific question over alleged use of the snooping technology, Pegasus spyware, by the Indian government, acting assistant secretary for South and Central Asian affairs Dean Thompson said: “The whole notion of using this type of technology against civil society, or regime critics, or journalists, or anybody like that through extrajudicial means is always concerning.”
“We don’t have any particular special insights into the India case. I know this is a broader issue, but I will say that we’ve been quite vocal about trying to find ways for companies to be able to ensure that their technology is not used in these types of ways. And we will certainly continue to press those issues,” Thompson said.
Thompson also confirmed that US secretary of state Antony Blinken would raise the issues of human rights and civil liberties, though in a constructive way, at talks with his Indian counterpart scheduled for Tuesday.
“I will tell you that we will raise it, and we will continue that conversation because we firmly believe that we have more values in common on those fronts than we don’t,” Thompson said.
During the Trump dispensation, the US administration more than once played down such issues, but with Biden at the helm now such issues are seen as more dear, invoking the liberal and progressive mindset of the new US government.
