A day after reports came in that the Centre proposed to install chips in new television set-top boxes, Congress on Monday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of attempting to breach the privacy of citizens.
"BREAKING! The Next Stage of Surveillance by BJP Revealed! In a serious breach of privacy, Smriti Iraniji wants to know what show you watch on your TV, within the four walls of your bedroom, without your permission! Why," Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala wrote on Twitter.
The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has reportedly told the TRAI that the step had been taken to provide data about channels watched and their duration which would help advertisers and the Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP) to spend their advertising expenditure wisely.
The ministry added that only those channels which are widely watched will get promoted.