What is the issue?
- Privacy must not be discussed only in the context of Government and Aadhaar.
- It must be extended to non-state sector too.
How the non-state actors intrude the privacy?
- Media -Many persons are affected by intrusive or false reporting by the print and digital media.
- Media houses photograph or videograph people for their stories, sometimes covertly and access private documents which may also constitute an intrusion into privacy.
- Private businesses -The online businesses, private establishments, technology companies, and social media deal routinely with people and sensitive data.
- Many shops, malls, jewellers and super markets use CCTV cameras for surveillance.
- Mobile numbers are almost being used like identity numbers and, worse, shared casually.
- Electronic devices - Some cell phones use biometric access with the data stored abroad.
- Uploading ones digital photo makes them susceptible to facial recognition and tracking.
- Web browsing -E-commerce sites insist on registration before their services are used, most web browsers and search engines are actually programmed to rememberusers’ actions.
- When one click the ‘I agree’ or ‘remember password’ button on a screen there can be consequences for their privacy.
- International travel - When one travel abroad they are routinely allowed to make use of their biometrics for visas.
How photos are vulnerable over biometrics?
- Photographs have been used for ages to identify, name and track individuals.
- Many allow their friends to tag their faces quite voluntarily using the face tagging feature on social media
- After all, a fingerprint needs an expert to decode it whereas a photo can be taken without the subject even being aware of it and used to identify individuals with accuracy.
- In comparison to fingerprints, photos are so much more potent and liable for misuse that every photograph that is taken and shared.
Way forward
- Under a ‘privacy law’, the media also have to deal with the vulnerability of personal data and should bring in strong opinions on the matter of privacy.
- Aadhaar as more possible security features (like locking the Aadhaar number by the user), when compared with the above mentioned Non-state actors.
- Thus breach of privacy is not only possible with Aadhaar it is possible everywhere, the users must be aware of their data.
Source: Business Line
