DailyPost 2717
WARNING BELLS FOR DEMOCRACY – SOURCE CODE TO SOFTWARE
What is the level of outcry when one public statement agitates the democratic mind and its feelings? It seems as if the heavens have fallen and doomsday is right there. The democratic cacophony machine from legislatures to the media to the recent social / antisocial media go a rampage, as if there is nothing else in this world to ponder about. The whole of the democratic ecosystem has been created to have checks and balances in the tools and the functioning of democracy so that we get the most puritan and sacred system working for us.
Not that this dream was ever met with but with the onset of technology it is being shattered into smithereens. I am not talking of Deep Fake or any other tech tantrums, which has off late become a matter of concern. Did we ever even think in our wildest dreams that the software or really the kernel behind it can play havoc with democracy. It has been happening in the most imaginative and also in the cruelest ways and we have not been able to make a head or tail out of it. Most of the times, the most complimented mature electorate has no hang of it.
Why only him, what about the political class or the political leadership, but when it is to be used in their favour, while in government, they become experts in the tricks of the trade. What had been the exact role of Cambridge Analytica in Brexit referendum with the full force of Facebook and how they allowed their software to be exploited by their associate. All these algorithms made democracies play to their tunes. In reference to many other elections including leading democracies, how are we so sure of that the sentiments and hence the votes were not manipulated. Which source code allows the platform to authenticate the content? And that too in a democratic manner. Who controls the software? There are no regulatory challenges for a software. Democracy or a degraded variant of it is fine with them. Investigation too, what about Apple’s stance in San Bernardino terrorist attack, it was a software /source code issue again.
This is on creating popular mood, sentiments and voting then what about spyware to stop dissent and democratic pushback. “Pegasus is thought to have been used by governments around the world to spy on political dissidents, journalists and human rights activists.” Born in Israel and legally peddled by its government has been a known roadblock of democracy. Who has audited its software? Why governments have been fine with it. A US court has directed NSO, makers of Pegasus, to hand over source with full functionality to WhatsApp, as they used its call infra to compromise mobile phones. Amnesty claims that Pegasus has been spying on individuals since 2014. Saudi activist Yahya Assiri had been targeted in 2018. International collaborative investigation and its scathing report widely covered worldwide has also not any difference. We also had our share of that report and Pegasus. University of Toronto reported Pegasus could affect iOS 15 and early versions of iOS 16. Cupertino fixed it. Apple went on to reportedly warn multiple Russian journalist last year. Future seems to be bleak. Governments have to put their heads together.
FOR TRUE DEMOCRATIC EXISTENCE, ALL SOFTWARE CREATION HAS TO FALL IN LINE WITH REQUISITE CHECKS.
Sanjay Sahay
Have a nice evening.