AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 12079 - Google reveals why Tez app doesn’t support ‘pay by Aadhaar’ feature

In 2009, I became extremely concerned with the concept of Unique Identity for various reasons. Connected with many like minded highly educated people who were all concerned.

On 18th May 2010, I started this Blog to capture anything and everything I came across on the topic. This blog with its million hits is a testament to my concerns about loss of privacy and fear of the ID being misused and possible Criminal activities it could lead to.

In 2017 the Supreme Court of India gave its verdict after one of the longest hearings on any issue. I did my bit and appealed to the Supreme Court Judges too through an On Line Petition.

In 2019 the Aadhaar Legislation has been revised and passed by the two houses of the Parliament of India making it Legal. I am no Legal Eagle so my Opinion carries no weight except with people opposed to the very concept.

In 2019, this Blog now just captures on a Daily Basis list of Articles Published on anything to do with Aadhaar as obtained from Daily Google Searches and nothing more. Cannot burn the midnight candle any longer.

"In Matters of Conscience, the Law of Majority has no place"- Mahatma Gandhi

Ram Krishnaswamy

Sydney, Australia.

Aadhaar

The UIDAI has taken two successive governments in India and the entire world for a ride. It identifies nothing. It is not unique. The entire UID data has never been verified and audited. The UID cannot be used for governance, financial databases or anything. It’s use is the biggest threat to national security since independence. – Anupam Saraph 2018

When I opposed Aadhaar in 2010 , I was called a BJP stooge. In 2016 I am still opposing Aadhaar for the same reasons and I am told I am a Congress die hard. No one wants to see why I oppose Aadhaar as it is too difficult. Plus Aadhaar is FREE so why not get one ? Ram Krishnaswamy

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.-Mahatma Gandhi

In matters of conscience, the law of the majority has no place.Mahatma Gandhi

“The invasion of privacy is of no consequence because privacy is not a fundamental right and has no meaning under Article 21. The right to privacy is not a guaranteed under the constitution, because privacy is not a fundamental right.” Article 21 of the Indian constitution refers to the right to life and liberty -Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi

“There is merit in the complaints. You are unwittingly allowing snooping, harassment and commercial exploitation. The information about an individual obtained by the UIDAI while issuing an Aadhaar card shall not be used for any other purpose, save as above, except as may be directed by a court for the purpose of criminal investigation.”-A three judge bench headed by Justice J Chelameswar said in an interim order.

Legal scholar Usha Ramanathan describes UID as an inverse of sunshine laws like the Right to Information. While the RTI makes the state transparent to the citizen, the UID does the inverse: it makes the citizen transparent to the state, she says.

Good idea gone bad
I have written earlier that UID/Aadhaar was a poorly designed, unreliable and expensive solution to the really good idea of providing national identification for over a billion Indians. My petition contends that UID in its current form violates the right to privacy of a citizen, guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. This is because sensitive biometric and demographic information of citizens are with enrolment agencies, registrars and sub-registrars who have no legal liability for any misuse of this data. This petition has opened up the larger discussion on privacy rights for Indians. The current Article 21 interpretation by the Supreme Court was done decades ago, before the advent of internet and today’s technology and all the new privacy challenges that have arisen as a consequence.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MP Rajya Sabha

“What is Aadhaar? There is enormous confusion. That Aadhaar will identify people who are entitled for subsidy. No. Aadhaar doesn’t determine who is eligible and who isn’t,” Jairam Ramesh

But Aadhaar has been mythologised during the previous government by its creators into some technology super force that will transform governance in a miraculous manner. I even read an article recently that compared Aadhaar to some revolution and quoted a 1930s historian, Will Durant.Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Rajya Sabha MP

“I know you will say that it is not mandatory. But, it is compulsorily mandatorily voluntary,” Jairam Ramesh, Rajya Saba April 2017.

August 24, 2017: The nine-judge Constitution Bench rules that right to privacy is “intrinsic to life and liberty”and is inherently protected under the various fundamental freedoms enshrined under Part III of the Indian Constitution

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the World; indeed it's the only thing that ever has"

“Arguing that you don’t care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say.” -Edward Snowden

In the Supreme Court, Meenakshi Arora, one of the senior counsel in the case, compared it to living under a general, perpetual, nation-wide criminal warrant.

Had never thought of it that way, but living in the Aadhaar universe is like living in a prison. All of us are treated like criminals with barely any rights or recourse and gatekeepers have absolute power on you and your life.

Announcing the launch of the # BreakAadhaarChainscampaign, culminating with events in multiple cities on 12th Jan. This is the last opportunity to make your voice heard before the Supreme Court hearings start on 17th Jan 2018. In collaboration with @no2uidand@rozi_roti.

UIDAI's security seems to be founded on four time tested pillars of security idiocy

1) Denial

2) Issue fiats and point finger

3) Shoot messenger

4) Bury head in sand.

God Save India

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

12079 - Google reveals why Tez app doesn’t support ‘pay by Aadhaar’ feature - Hindustan Times

Google reveals why Tez app doesn’t support ‘pay by Aadhaar’ feature

Tez app, Google’s latest offering for India, does not feature Aadhaar-based payment.

TECH Updated: Sep 18, 2017 17:35 Ist

Kul Bhushan

Hindustan Times

Is Google Tez a privacy nightmare?(AFP)

Google on Monday launched its mobile payment service ‘Tez’ in India. The application allows users to digitally make and receive payments through the Unified Payment Interface (UPI). Google Tez, however, had earlier come under scanner over its privacy policy, which says users may have to share information including bank account number and Aadhaar number with the company.

Caesar Sengupta, a senior executive at Google responded to the controversy stating that the Google Tez app does not support Aadhaar because of the lack of clarity in the government regulations and policies.

“To be very clear, there’s a feature ‘pay by Aadhaar’ in UPI. It is an optional feature that was listed by UPI. It was not a mandatory feature; otherwise we would have had to include Aadhaar support. There’s a lack of legal and regulatory clarity on how to use Aadhaar data and what to do with that. So, we chose not to implement that feature. There is no pay by Aadhaar feature in our product. We are working with the regulatory authorities, NPCI and legal team to understand the parameter of this,” he said while addressing a Q&A session following the Google Tez launch on Monday.

Referring to the terms and conditions on Aadhaar, Caesar said, “We added this section because there was a possibility that this feature come in the future, and we felt users needed to be aware of it. So, whenever this feature comes or any new feature comes, we will notify you [users].”

On questions around Google Tez possibly accessing users’ data, he responded, “Privacy is very important to us. Having data is not unique. Right question to ask is what do we do with the data, how companies are using that data? We use the data to make product better for you [users]. And we do this with your consent. We always give users control over their data. So, users can wipe their data at any point they desire.”

Earlier, Google had drawn flak from users for its controversial privacy policy that states: “You hereby expressly consent to and permit Google, Group Companies and the Payment Participants’ to collect, store and share such information including but not limited to the your personal information such as your name, address, Google Account or Payment instrument details, all transactions carried out through Tez or information with respect to third parties and the Recipients including bank account or Aadhaar details for the purposes mentioned in the Combined Tez Terms.”

“You represent that you have obtained all requisite prior consents and waivers necessary from any third party or Recipients and have provided such third party or Recipient with notice to permit Google, Group Companies and Payment Participants to carry out actions described in this paragraph. You further warrant that you will provide such notices and secure such necessary consents and waivers in advance of providing similar information to Google in the future.”

“In the event that you are a Recipient, you hereby consent Google to permit the Sender to store your information including bank account number and Aadhaar number on Tez for the purpose of sending you payments. Tez does not support the Pay to Aadhaar feature, though it may do so in the future with notice to you and in accordance with applicable laws,” the policy further read.

Users were quick to express their displeasure on Twitter.

18 Sep

Anivar Aravind @anivar

Replying to @anivar

Google may reject any payment/communication from a non-Tez account . Google is an intermediary than UPI Payment service Provider pic.twitter.com/1QHHq9OiP4

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Anivar Aravind @anivar

Pathetic #privacyfail @Google. Tez allows anyone to store aadhaar number of others in their Tez account. I will be deleting my Tez account. pic.twitter.com/ciVqaFyeO4

2:40 PM - Sep 18, 2017