Still Wrought With Controversy

WILL AADHAAR ACCELERATE PROGRESS TOWARDS A LESS CORRUPT SOCIETY OR WILL PEOPLE BE COERCED TO DWELL IN FEAR OF MASS SURVEILLANCE AND PRIVACY BREACH? TWO BOOKS TAKE A FRESH LOOK AT INDIA’S DIGITAL DNA.

- Joe C. Mathew

IN MID-APRIL, the Supreme Court of Jamaica ruled that the country’s National Identification and Registration Act 2017 was unconstitutional. Although not yet in force, the law called for a National Identification System (NIDS) for capturing and storing people’s personal data in a secure manner. A legal battle ensued as the Opposition claimed that the law had breached eight of the 25 Fundamental Rights and Freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution. The government argued that the law would secure future growth of Jamaica by ushering in an era of connected e-governance and provide every Jamaican a unique identification to access government and private sector services. The full court, which heard the case against the biometric scheme, declared the Act unconstitutional and struck down NIDS.