Kerala Police Defends Use of Cellebrite Amid Surveillance Software Controversy

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Police has sought to distance itself from the controversy surrounding Cellebrite, saying the software is used for forensic examination. The police maintain that they do not use spyware designed to extract confidential information from mobile phones. Officials said the force uses legally approved digital forensic software.

According to the police, Cellebrite is not a surveillance tool but a forensic instrument used to collect digital evidence related to criminal cases. It is used to examine the mobile phones of people arrested in various cases and recover digital evidence that must be produced before courts, the police explained.

The controversy over Cellebrite began following allegations that police had attempted to extract information from the phone of YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, who was arrested during a protest in Delhi against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The issue gained attention after the Internet Freedom Foundation publicised Rathee’s allegation that Delhi Police had tried to access data from his phone.