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The largest biometric identification program in the world does not violate Indian privacy laws, the country's Supreme Court said on Wednesday. The controversial biometric identity program, known as Aadhaar, has nearly one billion registered users and was created in 2009 to allow the government to streamline protection programs. social security and prevent identity fraud. It was retroactively legalized by a law passed in 2016.
Through the program, the Indian government assigns each resident a 12-digit number and a registration card.. It also collects and stores the demographics and biometrics of each registrant, including their name, gender, birth date, fingerprints, iris scanners, and photos. Registration numbers are required to access various government and financial services, including bank accounts. Although it was initially well received, Time points out that many people now believe that Aadhaar is not a particularly safe surveillance program, easy to hack and Edward Snowden agrees, by the way).
Critics have long claimed that the vast data collection program violates privacy laws, especially in light of last year's landmark decision that Indian citizens enjoy a fundamental human right. to privacy. Four judges of the five-member panel of the Supreme Court disagreed. They felt that the program could continue even though its scope was small and restrictions on data storage were more stringent. The court also made sure that private companies could not ask customers to sign up with their Aadhaar credentials, Next web reports. This includes local companies such as paytm online payment company and telecommunications provider Reliance Jio, as well as global technology giants such as Microsoft and Amazon, who have integrated Aadhaar into some of their products.
You can read the full Supreme Court judgment here.
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