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

Friday, December 29, 2017

12566 - Facebook Confirms Aadhaar Prompt Test for New Users, Says It Isn't Mandatory = NDTV

Facebook Confirms Aadhaar Prompt Test for New Users, Says It Isn't Mandatory 


Jagmeet Singh, 27 December 2017

HIGHLIGHTS
  • Facebook asks users to enter name appears on their Aadhaar card
  • The new testing is limited to small group of users with mobile devices
  • It doesn't make it mandatory to have an Aadhaar card for sign up

Facebook has started testing use of Aadhaar as an example to encourage new users in India to use their real names on its site. The latest move is aimed at curbing the number of fake accounts on the social media platform that has over 241 million users in the country, making India the second largest market for Facebook after the US.

Facebook's mobile site is testing the 'name as per Aadhaar' prompt when users create a new account. "What's your name? Using the name on your Aadhaar card makes it easier for friends to recognise you," the prompt reads. The testing was first spotted by users on Reddit and Twitter. Notably, not everyone can see this prompt when creating a new account via the Facebook mobile site. We weren't able to reproduce the prompt.


Photo Credit: Facebook

A Facebook spokesperson confirmed to Gadgets 360, "We want to make sure people can use the names they're known by on Facebook, and can easily connect with friends and family. This is a small test where we provide additional language when people sign up for an account to say that using the name on their Aadhaar card makes it easier for friends to recognise them. This is an optional prompt which we are testing, people are not required to enter the name on their Aadhaar card."
Only a small percentage of users who access Facebook on mobile are currently seeing the prompt. As the spokesperson mentions, it is not mandatory to use the name as per Aadhaar, just a prompt for users. Facebook, of course, wants you to use your real name, and this is just one way to encourage said use.
It is worth noting here that Facebook is only asking the users under its pilot programme to sign up on its social network using the names that are available on their Aadhaar cards and doesn't request any Aadhaar details. The move doesn't raise further Aadhaar privacy issues, and risk of possible misuse doesn't increase. Normally, we don't report on developments in an app or service's onboarding process. But the attempt of using Aadhaar - which is currently embroiled in its own privacy controversies - as an example to enhance real name usage on Facebook makes it stand out.
India is currently one of the fastest growing markets for Facebook - in addition to being the second-largest market after the US. This has so far influenced the Mark Zuckerberg-led company to actively bringing new features specifically for Indian users. The social media giant faced huge criticism for violating the fundamentals of net neutrality by launching its Free Basics in 2015. Nevertheless, it brought a list of India-centric features in the recent past to enhance its user base in the country.
Facebook started testing its 'Express Wifi' service in India in 2016 to offer high-speed internet access through 125 rural Wi-Fi hotspots. Last month, the Menlo Park, California-headquartered company announced its two programmes to train about five lakh Indians on digital skills by 2020.
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