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On 28 January, World Data Privacy Day, the CEO of UIDAI Ajay Bhushan Pandey answered questions posed to the Aadhaar authority about the controversial biometric database and its safety. In the “one-hour live Q&A,” the UIDAI’s CEO answered specific questions posed to the authority, sharing recorded video answers and responses to a few of the questions posed.
Here’s a look at some of the more important questions that the UIDAI answered in the one-hour Q&A
In response to the question about what systems are in place to protect Aadhaar data from a breach, Bhushan assures that the world’s “best technologies from different companies” have been used to protect Aadhaar data. He adds that this is why “there hasn’t been a single incident of Aadhaar data breach or Aadhaar data theft in 7 years.”
In response to a question posed by The Quint’s Vishnu Gopinath, Bhushan responded that the government has no authority whatsoever to freeze bank accounts of citizens linked to Aadhaar, reiterating that this was a misconception and that people need NOT have any fears about the government freezing accounts.
Bhushan said that Sections 28 & 29 of the Aadhaar Act provide for punishment for unauthorised Aadhaar data leaks, adding that your data will never be shared with anyone without your permission. He reiterates that the UIDAI cannot share biometric data without explicit permission.
In response to a question about whether the e-KYC & Virtual ID was put out in response to The Tribune report titled Rs 500, 10 minutes, and you have access to billion Aadhaar details, Bhushan reiterated that “no data breach had occurred, and that the new features were long overdue.”
In response to a question posed by The Quint’s Meghnad Bose about instances of people in Jharkhand being denied rations for not linking their Aadhaar numbers, Bhushan responded that Section 7 of the Aadhaar Act clearly states that benefits must be given based on alternate means of identification.
In response, Bhushan confirms that in case of a violation of the Aadhaar Act, the UIDAI is the only body that can file a complaint for the same. However, citizens can file a complaint for violations under the Indian Penal Code or the IT Act. An answer about why this was the case, was not given.
In response to the question of how facial recognition would work, Bhushan answered that facial ID would benefit labourers and others whose fingerprints had worn out or faced trouble authenticating their biometrics.
While the one hour time limit restricted the number of questions Bhushan could answer, a number of users raised important questions that went unanswered.
Other users wondered why the “actual” questions they posed weren’t being answered.
While some others claimed, based on their own personal experiences, that some of the statements made by the UIDAI CEO were not true, at least in their case.
Some pointed out that the “live Q&A,” was technically not even live.
While others had even less patience, stating that the UIDAI was “clearly scared” to do an open Q&A session.
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