New Delhi: Edward Snowden added fuel to the controversy surrounding Aadhaar.
According to the news published in Hindustan Times, Edward Snowden pointed out the alleged weakness of the system. Replying to the statement made by Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), ” Aadhaar is an identifier, not a profiling tool”, Snowden tweeted, “That might be true if banks, landlords, hospitals, schools, telephone & internet companies were prohibited by law from asking for your #Aadhaar number. But any Indian can tell you they’re asked for their number by non-government entities––and those companies have databases too.”
#Aadhaar is an identifier, not a profiling tool.
Aadhaar database does not keep any information about bank accounts, shares, mutual funds, property details, health records, family details, religion, caste, education etc. #AadhaarMythBuster— Aadhaar (@UIDAI) January 17, 2018
That might be true if banks, landlords, hospitals, schools, telephone & internet companies were prohibited by law from asking for your #Aadhaar number. But any Indian can tell you they're asked for their number by non-government entities––and those companies have databases too. https://t.co/WsKC9wR6sj
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) January 21, 2018
It may be mentioned that many organizations in the India demand Aadhaar number for providing services.
Tweeting on this issue, Edward Snowden wrote, ” Rarely do former intel chiefs and I agree, but the head of India’s RAW writes #Aadhaar is being abused by banks, telcos, and transport not to police entitlements, but as a proxy for identity–an improper gate to service. Such demands must be criminalized”.
Rarely do former intel chiefs and I agree, but the head of India's RAW writes #Aadhaar is being abused by banks, telcos, and transport not to police entitlements, but as a proxy for identity–an improper gate to service. Such demands must be criminalized. https://t.co/rRSn42XLlQ
— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) January 21, 2018
However, authorities say that the reason behind making Aadhaar mandatory is to find out genuineness of the users.
It may be recalled that Snowden’s criticism about Aadhaar started after the publication of the report in Tribune. He questions about the role of the government in protecting the privacy of the citizens.