Surveillance concerns as India issues new digital IDs in Kashmir
Al JazeeraIn Indian-administered Kashmir, some see the new family IDs as part of a campaign to exert greater control over the residents. Plans for a new family ID in the disputed Himalayan region have caused confusion and irritation among many residents like Mehak, while rights campaigners fear the programme could lead to increased surveillance and data hacks. “Creating ‘a unique family ID’ for J&K residents is emblematic of the widening trust deficit” after 2019, Mehbooba Mufti, an opposition leader and former chief minister of Indian-administered Kashmir, said in a tweet. Increased data collection for the JK Family ID and the absence of a federal data protection law makes residents vulnerable to greater surveillance and exclusion, said Anushka Jain, policy counsel at the Internet Freedom Foundation, a digital rights group in New Delhi. Indian-administered Kashmir’s family ID is similar to digital IDs introduced in Haryana state in 2020 to allocate welfare benefits.
History of this topic
Too many digital IDs spoil the broth
Hindustan Times
Every Family in J&K To Get Unique ID: 6 Reasons Why Experts Say This Is Worrying
The Quint
Family ID cards for J&K resident; opposition parties decry govt plan
Deccan ChroniclePrivacy concerns over Haryana’s ID scheme
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