SURVEILLANCE CONCERNS
India high court limits biometric identity system
New Delhi — India’s supreme court upheld the validity of a controversial biometric identity system on Wednesday, but flagged privacy concerns and reined in a government push to make it mandatory for everything from banking to telecom services. The ruling was cheered by critics of the system, known as Aadhaar, which has already provided biometric identification for more than a billion people, making it the world’s biggest biometric identity project. Critics had expressed fears it could spawn a surveillance state and smooth the way for companies to profile clients. "This is a fabulous judgment," said lawyer Kapil Sibal, a member of the opposition Congress party. "It takes care of citizens’ rights and it ensures we don’t have a surveillance state in place, it ensures that our privacy is not intruded into, and at the same time, it protects the rights of the marginalised," he told television channel CNN-IBN. A majority ruling by a panel of five judges cleared the use of Aadhaar for welfa...
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