AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 13359 - 'Very loose rules' led to Facebook data leak, says SAS chief

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

Thursday, April 26, 2018

13359 - 'Very loose rules' led to Facebook data leak, says SAS chief - New Indian Express

'Very loose rules' led to Facebook data leak, says SAS chief

By PTI | Published: 24th April 2018 07:26 PM |

DENVER: Data analytics major SAS Institute chief Jim Goodnight has blamed "very very loose rules and regulations" at Facebook for the breach of personal data of millions of users.

Amid a global furore over breach of personal data of tens of millions of Facebook users, including in India, Goodnight said although all technology companies have obligation to protect personal information they have collected on their consumers, most of them are careless about it.

A pioneer in data analytics, the North Carolina-based SAS Institute has annual revenue of over USD 3.2 billion. "I think Facebook just had very, very loose rules and regulations about what they would permit and what they don't, because that is how they are making money. "...in short, technology companies have been very loose with the data they have collected on individuals," Goodnight, who is the company's co-founder and chief executive, told PTI in an interview here.

He was speaking on the sidelines of the SAS Global Forum here, which was held from April 8-11.

At SAS, he said they always make sure that all any personalised data is completely encrypted so that none can break in. However, he said he is against any government interference or regulations.

"I would hate to see the European Union's general data privacy protection-type regulations imposed in the US because I don't like any kind of regulations. I hope it does not get us to wrestle like in Europe," the septuagenarian said.

About India's biometric identification system Aadhaar, Goodnight said the country would have to ensure that individual's data is not breached and cited the example of the US where there is a lot of regulation to protect data related to social security numbers.

Regarding SAS India business, he said the Indian arm continues to grow. "We have done very well in India so far. Banks are getting bigger, companies are getting bigger and it is still a growing market for us". He also said the company would continue to increase its R&D staff at Pune.

SAS has offices in New Delhi, Pune, Mumbai and Bengaluru. Defending artificial intelligence, amidst concerns that the technology might impact jobs, Goodnight said, "I think people skilled at or familiar with AI will be preferred over others. So hiring will continue to happen but of those with better tech capabilities".

Goodnight also predicted that when it comes to mobility, the future would be in self-driving cars. "We will see more development in the area of self-driving cars. Within 10 years every car will be self-driven. I hope there will be official requirement that there has to be some specific number of self-driving cars.

"After all we all would be safer than we are now. With distracted humans driving, I think, I would rather prefer a computer that is not distracted while driving. There is still some glitches to work out but they are making a lot of progress," the SAS chief concluded.

At the forum, the company had announced creation of a new division to fight frauds and cybercrimes globally, using artificial intelligence and advanced analytics.