Thread by @no2uid

1/n Rethink Aadhaar & Article 21 Trust anchored a session on Surveillance & Technology at the Janta Parliament on 18 August 2020. More than 100 people attended & voted. Thread - Highlights from the session illustrated by @kruttikasusarla rethinkaadhaar.in/blog/2020/8/24…

2/n @PaliSamuel presided over the session and highlighted “mass ostracization and harassment” faced by those who had their personal information on health status, travel history released in the public domain. Key guiding question: where is “trust” between people & the Govt.

3/n Keynote address by Usha Ramanathan - similarities between the exploitation of natural resources & collection of data. Must be more transparency on the relationship between state & corporate entities on data extractive practices with minimum regulatory oversight

4/n @SwetaDash93 highlighted- not just bodies, but actions, speeches & dissent are subject to surveillance. Navmee @StrandedWorkers, spoke of the difficulty migrant workers faced when welfare is an app & smartphone/access to the Internet is a precondition for emergency relief

Sameet Panda, @OrissaRtf -despite evidence of denial of ration to people due to non-seeding or incorrect seeding of #Aadhaar Odisha govt recently mandated Aadhaar for pensions affecting almost 10 lakh persons

@asthakapoor @aaptiinstitute discussed how platform workers provide essential work during the pandemic but have no control or bargaining power over their personal data #COVID19

@skchinmayi - poor Internet access, inadequate communication infrastructure, prolonged Internet deprivation, like what the people of Jammu & Kashmir are facing, has an impact on not just education and business opportunities but also on psychological well-being

Deepika Joshi of @jsa_india criticized the fact that fetters to accessing health services during the pandemic were not removed. She provided the example of making #Aadhaar mandatory to avail COVID-19 testing & drugs in Rajasthan and Maharashtra rasing issues of access & privacy

@kanksshi, Centre for Policy Research, highlighted serious concerns with unregulated use of facial recognition in law enforcement or in election related activities as used in a recently held municipal elections in Telangana with grave potential of violations of rights.

S.35 of the Personal Data Protection Bill granting power to the Central Govt to exempt Govt agencies from certain provisions perpetuates unregulated surveillance, Anita Gurumurthy @ITforChange called this “undermining of institutions a process of de-democratization”

Tripti Jain, @iNetDemocracy -data protection must go beyond digital rights to ensure bodily autonomy. Siddharth deSouza @justiceadda virtual court management must be people-centric, reviewed and redesigned taking into consideration concerns of all especially litigants

Divij Joshi- coordinate responses to algorithmic systems that create or use proxy information to discriminate against us in new and old ways. Shubhranshu Choudhary of CGNet Swara spoke of how, in the lesser developed parts of India, people rely on voice-based & other technology

@DesignBeku founder @praymurray - Aarogya Setu app designed without inputs from ASHA workers at the forefront of the efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19. @PaikraVipul, @righttofoodjhk concluded that #Aadhaar sold as a ‘panacea’ has deprived women of maternity benefits

Rahul Sharma, The Perspective - Growing trend of calling data ‘oil’, ‘gold’, ‘uranium’, etc, but the focus of data regimes needs to be rights not economic growth. Anusha Ravishankar of @NetriFoundation - greater regulation on use and commercialization of facial recognition tech

@OsamaManzar of @DEFindia concluded, expressing concern over inequitable access - the pvt sector’s involvement in providing Internet access infrastructure has meant that people are treated as consumers not citizens, with the govt bearing no responsibility or accountability

@digitaldutta, an independent researcher, cautioned against the potential of #Aadhaar infrastructure creating a 360 degree profiling and surveillance mechanism by being linked to databases like the public credit registry or the National Health Stack.

Finally, Binoy Viswam (Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha) - appreciated convening the Janta Parliament as a means to actualize ‘people’s democracy’ and cautioned against the degeneration of the country into a police state. Watch the session here:

Participate in the concluding session of the #JantaParliament today at 11AM @jan_sarokar