TN concerned about Aadhaar data privacy

Titled ‘Privacy on the line’, the research was conducted by Dalberg, CGAP and Future of Finance (city-based Dvara Research Initiative), using a Human Centred Design (HCD) research, focussed on interactions with 50 interviewees (30 male and 20 female) in urban and rural areas, between the age of 18-80 years, across various socio-economic levels and ownership of mobile phones. 

The research revealed that contrary to popular belief, people valued their personal data but had little awareness on data privacy settings. The report also highlighted the need for a “data protection bill” in India.

The report stated, “Aadhaar was consistently one of the most valued pieces of data. Most people felt Aadhaar was a good thing, as it allowed them access to multiple services with ease. However, they were equally concerned about the security of their Aadhaar and the dangers of it falling into the wrong hands. For example, people said they had seen SIM card providers issue multiple SIMs under the same Aadhaar identity by making people give their biometric multiple times. 

Others also felt it was a form of surveillance by the state that went beyond just securing people to watching every action of theirs.”

V Rajendran, Principal Consultant, Cyber Society of India, said, “Though I am in favour of the Aadhaar system, on an individual level, I am concerned about the security measures taken.” The expert added that there is no definition of ‘privacy’ in India. “Recently, the SC hailed individual privacy as supreme and a fundamental right, neither the apex court nor the government has defined privacy. We don’t have a Data Privacy Act, suited to our needs. What works for the US will not work in our country,” he explained.

‘Gemini’ Ramamurthy, Chairman, Cyber Security and Privacy Foundation, said that in India the concept of privacy is misunderstood. “People share all kinds of information on social media and this has resulted in dangerous consequences. Governments across the world have strategic measures for privacy but we don’t have such a mechanism in India. From the security perspective, there is the Information Technology Amendment Act, 2008 (IT Act 2008) but nothing to ensure privacy,” he noted.

Social media expert Sorav Jain said, “I’m not sure if people really care about data. There are so many things that people share on social media these days.