New study says China, Russia and India among the world’s top surveillance states

According to the UK-based firm Comparitech, China, Russia and India are the world’s top surveillance states, based on its privacy index. The survey was conducted across 47 countries, and their privacy safeguards were ranked based on constitutional protection, statutory protection, privacy enforcement, biometrics, data sharing, and the government’s access to data. The level of privacy in India was found low due to its controversial Aadhaar identification system, concerns over the data protection bill, or attempts by the government to monitor WhatsApp, by making messages traceable by adding a digital fingerprint to every message sent.