Sri Lanka has presented regulations in parliament to create a database of data about citizens which can be accessed by the defence secretary and other officials without a court order, which critics warn is taking the country speedily towards a surveillance state.
On Wednesday regulations which will eventually make it possible for authorities to create an electronic ID a data base of personal and family information including biometric data, was presented to parliament.
The e-NIC project was initiated by the ousted Rajapaksa administration.
The law to make E-NIC possible was passed earlier by the so-called ‘Good Governance’ administration which came to power promising to increase freedoms of citizens.
Sri Lanka is rushing into the E-Nic without a privacy law in place, or safeguards against abuse by authorities, despite mounting evidence from other countries of the negative effects of such systems on civil liberties.
Unlike India, Sri Lanka already had a nation-wide unique numbered identity card. The identity card was under the control of citizens, and its presentation is initiated by the citizen.
Some proponents have misled the public that Sri Lanka’s planned system is similar to that of India, critics say. Though electronic cards are claimed to be less easy to forge, the experience with credit and debit cards show that it is simply a different level of sosphistication, those in the IT industry say. In India a dog and a hindu god has reportedly been issued Aardhar cards.
India’s Aardhar system, which was touted as a system to prevent frauds in subsidy distribution, has led to widespread abuse and leaks, despite safeguards being put in place and promises that it will only answer yes/no queries, and not be used to mine information.
It means in theory, the database cannot be asked to reveal an address, only whether a queried address (or name) is correct or not.
However in practice, entire details or people including cricket star Dhoni have leaked.
India’s Supreme Court Thursday ruled that privacy was a fundamental right throwing the entire program of collecting biometric data into doubt.
“The right of privacy is a fundamental right,” the nine judges deciding the case said in a unanimous ruling.
“It is a right which protects the inner sphere of the individual from interference from both State and non-State actors and allows the individuals to make autonomous life choices.”
Freedom advocates say the ruling may make it more difficult for the Modi administration to create a surveillance state and throw a so-called “digital leash” around the necks of Indians.
“The world’s largest democracy has spoken,” said Mishi Choudhary, legal director at the Software Freedom Law Center in New York was quoted as saying by AFP, a news agency.
Courtesy:ECONOMYNEXT