AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 13078 - FB data breach puts spotlight on Aadhaar ET Now|

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

Saturday, March 24, 2018

13078 - FB data breach puts spotlight on Aadhaar ET Now| - Economic Times

FB data breach puts spotlight on Aadhaar

ET Now|

Mar 23, 2018, 01.19 PM IST

It’s a ‘Sorry’ from Zuckerberg, finally! In an interview with CNN, the Facebook founder admitted that the social media networking platform may have grossly erred by its failure to protect personal data of its millions of subscribers. Facing fire for the massive data breach involving British data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica, Zuckerberg says Facebook doesn’t have the right to serve its loyal customers anymore.

But the controversy doesn’t seems to end there. The Modi government has intensified its attack against the Congress for the party’s alleged links with Cambridge, something which the main opposition party continues to deny.

IT and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad slammed the Congress, accusing it of hiring Cambridge for its social media campaigns, even as party president Rahul Gandhi hit back, accusing the BJP of trying to frame his party. The Congress also charges Team Modi of using the Facebook fiasco to divert public attention from the massacre of 39 Indians in the Iraqi town of Mossul.

The big political stand-off apart, the data breach at the world’s most popular networking platform raises some serious questions over privacy and data safety. At a time when Supreme Court is examining the constitutional validity of Aadhaar, the Facebook episode is sure to put the pressure on the government to ensure that data security gets top billing.

It will also make the clamour for a greater scrutiny of social media platforms louder. The mega data breach at Facebook and what it means to privacy laws in India, That’s our topic of discussion on the India Development Debate tonight.

HITESH JAIN

SPOKESPERSON, BJP

Anyone can put any claim on website, but it needs to be validated. Validation for the Congress came during Gujarat elections, when details about Cambridge Analytica first emerged. Now the Congress is trying to distance itself from the company. The government is coming out with a strong data protection law. The consultation process is already on.

SANJAY JHA

NATIONAL SPOKESPERSON, CONGRESS

Ravi Shankar Prasad has conceded a self-goal. The BJP stands ashamed of lying in broad daylight. We have nothing to do with Cambridge Analytica. We have to look at the role of Facebook. PM Narendra Modi went to the company’s headquarters and hugged Mark Zuckerberg. Let us not take Zuckerberg at face value.

SANJAY JAIN

FELLOW, ISPIRT

On the privacy side, we want to make sure we have a world where we have complete control of our data. Data protection law will make sure that no data can be used without the knowledge of the procurer. We need a new set of laws and a strong infrastructure. This is the right opportunity to create a new law.

SAKET MODI

FOUNDER, LUCIDEUSTECH

India is a minefield of data. You can actually profile people on when they wake up, when they sleep. Ad is a just small part. The content shown to me is used to manipulate how I think. The BJP and the Congress don’t realise that Cambridge Analytica has not broken any law, apart from using the 50 million user details in the US.

NIKHIL PAHWA

FOUNDER, MEDIANAMA.COM

It is not about how they used the data, but how they are going to use it. It is really easy to use big data analysis to send personalised messages. It creates mass polarisation. You are targeting people to change the way they think and that will have a negative impact on our democracy. The only recourse I see is data disarmament.