You're being tracked

Do you love flaunting your new buys on social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook? You might now need to be more wary of what you post, as a picture of your lovely vacation home, glitzy jewellery or expensive car could land you in trouble.

Under the new Project Insight, the Modi government will keep a track of your wealth through your social media platforms, beginning next month. But how ethical is it to keep a track of someone’s wealth through social media?

Designer Amit Talwar, who is a social media regular, opines, “First of all, the question to the government should be — have you actually cracked down on the real tax evaders? Huge corporations and billionaires, who are the real culprits, always escape the system. Vijay Mallya is a fine example of this and you can see his social media activity. And unlike him, there are many others who never made the headlines. What about these people? If someone buys a new car or has a property and they have worked for it, they have all the right to flaunt it.”

He adds, “They should look after big names, but that will not happen, will it? I have, at times, worked three different jobs to make some extra money. So after all that hard work over twenty years, if I buy a car or a house, it should be none of their business. I have paid my taxes and to sneak into someone’s social media accounts is totally unethical.”

However, some believe that the government has already been tracking social media activity for sometime.  Kartik, an avid Instagrammer, shares, “To believe that this is a new policy is like pouring old wine into a new bottle. Of course the government is floating it around as a new decision, but the truth is all of our social media is already being monitored. So they could have used all the information without proclaiming it loud. The fact that they have said it out loud will in fact make people cautious.” He believes that the purpose of this program is not as straightforward as the government is claiming it to be. “This is something more than just related to tax-evasion.”

Documentary filmmaker Mohan Kumawat believes the same. “If you buy something like a car or a house, you already have some sort of documents for the same. To believe that the government is in the dark about it is being foolishly ignorant. This move, in fact, has another motive. By going public with such scheme, no one can sue the government for invasion of privacy. The government has a tool to track anyone’s  social media accounts and be open about it. It is a way to monitor what people are exactly saying about the government on various platforms. It is a way to keep track of a lot of other things that they can’t admit in public. Project Insight, I believe, has a bigger agenda. This way the government gets the legal right to keep track of you.”

Belgium, Canada, Australia and UK are already using similar programs and these have also been successful to some extent. Could that be possible in India too? Lawyer Inayat Dhanda, who is an avid social media user, believes that this is a double-edged sword. “It’s a good move for a country whose politicians are honest and whose governments provide basic facilities like healthcare. I see this as another failed stunt like demonetisation just to keep the citizens busy and in fear, while the government easily messes up other important issues like foreign affairs.”

Mohan Kumawat too questions the intent behind Project Insight. He says, “There are so many other ways to find out who is involved in tax evasion. Pan card and Aadhar card are the easiest ways to track anyone’s expenses. One can anyway not make cash payments of more than two lakh rupees now. All your bank accounts are now connected to your Aadhar number. So in the midst of all these regulations, what is the need for another project like this?”