An RTI has revealed that the government had been monitoring social media accounts of citizens for at least two years before the Supreme Court quashed a tender that would have allowed it to do so, the Business Standard reported on Wednesday, 5 December.

The report said the government had been monitoring citizens’ digital footprint through a social media communications hub of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

The tender was floated in April this year to extend and upgrade the ministry’s already-running scheme for another year, until the 2019 general elections.