The home ministry has informed a parliamentary panel that security agencies are using open-source intelligence from publicly available sources, including social media, to gather information, while maintaining that no privacy breach occurs as personal data is not collected.
Use of Open-Source Intelligence
The ministry said publicly available information on the internet and social media platforms is used for intelligence gathering. It emphasised that no private or personal information is collected, and therefore privacy is not violated.
The submission was made to the Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology for 2024–25, chaired by Lok Sabha member Nishikant Dubey, which tabled its report on Monday. The panel had sought clarification on how privacy concerns are addressed when data is scraped from online platforms.
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Expanding Role of AI in Intelligence Work
The ministry said artificial intelligence is being used to enhance intelligence gathering and counter-terrorism efforts by analysing large volumes of data, detecting anomalies and identifying patterns and linkages across datasets.
AI tools are also being used for multilingual monitoring, including regional dialects, to decode sensitive content from open and dark web sources. The Central Reserve Police Force is using AI for narrative and sentiment analysis on open-source social media platforms.
An AI-driven intelligence fusion centre is in the final stage of deployment. It is expected to process large volumes of structured and unstructured data to support analysis and decision-making for operational requirements.
Monitoring Threats and Online Crime
The ministry said AI can be used to monitor scam websites and links, including those related to online gambling, fake job schemes and fraudulent investment platforms. It may also be deployed on matrimonial and dating platforms to identify cases of honeytraps and fraud.
Authorities may use such tools to extract cryptocurrency wallet addresses from dark web marketplaces and track online activities linked to cybercrime. Public profiles on social platforms may also be analysed in investigations where individuals are suspected of being blackmailed or coerced into sharing sensitive information.
The ministry added that AI supports functions such as facial recognition, social media parsing, network analysis, and entity resolution, enabling identification and correlation of individuals across multiple data sources. Data scraping is limited to publicly available content, including social media posts, videos and online trends, to track misinformation, extremist content and other potential threats.
