Linking Aadhaar Card And Social Media: UIDAI Says New Law Required
Considered as one of the most important documents to prove the identity of an Indian citizen, the Aadhaar card is issued by the UIDAI or the Unique Identification Authority of India. The Aadhaar e-KYC has a unique 12 digit number for identification. Besides, this e-KYC also contains the biometric and demographic information of an individual. An individual's Aadhaar card contains personal information like name, age, date of birth and address and also a QR code that can be digitally scanned. Verification of a person’s identity has become much easier and simple since the launch of Aadhaar cards.
Aadhaar Authentication
The identity of an individual can be confirmed through the process of Aadhaar authentication. Following the submission of an individual’s personal and biometric information and the Aadhaar number with the CIDR (Central Identities Data Repository) operating under the UIDAI, his/her identity gets verified and confirmed.
Linking Aadhaar And Social Media Profiles
The Government of India recently revealed its intention to:
- Link the social media profiles including Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter of Indian citizens to their Aadhaar cards.
- It was the government of Tamil Nadu that initially moved the Supreme Court to make it mandatory for all citizens to link their social media profiles with their Aadhaar number.
- The government officials stated that such a decision will help to curb activities of terrorism, crime and spreading fake news by identifying the anti-social elements who work behind.
- The government wanted the social media sites to allow individuals to start an account only after providing their Aadhaar number.
- This decision gained a lot of media attention as well as strong objections from the citizens as well as from Face book.
- FaceBook put forth a strong "NO" stating that it would be an intervention into a person's privacy.
Response From Supreme Court
The Supreme Court-
- Sought opinion from the government.
- The Government through the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology approached the UIDAI for their opinion regarding the matter.
- UIDAI put forth their objection stating that the current Aadhaar law can in no way support this decision.
- Based on the response from the UIDAI the Supreme Court warned the government of India regarding their intention to link an individual’s Aadhaar and social media profile.
- They pointed out the issue of privacy as well.
Response From UIDAI
The UIDAI pointed that that linking Aadhaar and Social media accounts will be impossible under the current Aadhaar law.
- The current Aadhaar act clearly states that Aadhaar can be linked only to the government schemes for welfare.
- And for subsidies sanctioned by the government that comes under the Consolidated Fund of India.
- The UIDAI also pointed out that linking Social media and Aadhaar won’t be useful because it is not feasible technically.
- To link Aadhaar and social media profiles the authorities will need details like mobile number and address of each individual.
- However, the current Aadhaar law prevents giving access to the personal data of an individual.
It is important for a citizen living in India to have an Aadhaar card to avail of several services and subsidies from the government. This e-KYC is also essential to carry out almost all financial transactions. However, the UIDAI has clearly stated that the Government of India will have to introduce new Aadhaar laws before an individual’s Aadhaar card can be linked to their social media profile.
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