SURAT, India — Police in the western Indian state of Gujarat have launched a “digital combing” initiative, stopping people they consider “suspicious” in order to inspect their phones and ascertain whether they are committing the crime of “sharing and circulating pornographic material.”
Indian authorities have justified this intrusive practice by claiming that it is “aimed at preventing sexual assault against minors,” the Times of India reported this week.
“The first case under the operation was lodged and three people were arrested in Chhiri near Vapi town,” the Times continued.
Police described “digital combing” to reporters as “visiting chawls [tenements] or big residential societies where families live,” with a “team of cops” inquiring of residents “if they find any person's behavior or movement suspicious.”
“On getting information about such people, their [phones] are thoroughly checked for contents, especially pornographic material,” the Times reported.
Valsad Superintendent of Police Rajdeepsinh Zala claimed that the police started digital combing because “investigation in most cases of sexual assault on minor girls shows that the offenders are addicted to watching” CSAM.
“As part of this new operation, we will ask people to show their mobile phones,” Zala stressed. “We will do this during routine combing operations and based on specific information or over suspicious behavior of individuals.”
Zala did not clarify what standards his officers will use to determine whether a specific piece of content is in fact CSAM, or whether preventative arrests will be made for possession of any adult content.
India is currently in the middle of a media-driven “porn panic” centered around reporting on a case involving Bollywood celebrities who invested in an X-rated online startup.
Most local coverage of the media-driven scandal has blurred the line between sexual expression, erotic images and explicit pornography, with an endless series of editorials arguing that whatever the government deems “pornographic” needs to be criminally prosecuted.
The Gujarat arrests occurred last Sunday, when foot patrol cops in the city of Chhiri “were checking the houses for liquor or weapons” and “the team got information about some people sharing pornographic material,” police told the Times.
Police then arrested three men ages 19-21 and booked them under obscenity charges.
“Cops got suspicious when they were keenly watching something on mobile phones but hid them immediately on seeing the cops,” the Times of India added.
Main Image: Valsad Superintendent of Police Rajdeepsinh Zala (Valsad Police Facebook)