Thread by @Article21_Ind

And @PaliSamuel declares that the house is in session. #TechAndSurveillance #JantaParliament @jan_sarokar @no2uid

rights-bearing citizens are reduced to data subjects, says @PaliSamuel. We need to ask what is the vision of governance in the design of technologies?

.@PaliSamuel opens the debate by asking whether trust can be demanded by government. Talks of the need to carry a holistic perspective when evaluating the use of technology in governance.

#UshaRamanathan now delivering the keynote address

Usha: Digitization itself is not a bad idea, but the idea of every person being identified by a number and being transparent to corporation lns and governments is

From digitization to ID to databasing, we have come to surveillance. There should be no mass surveillance.

The state says we are only doing it to our own people, as if the state owns the people. The idea of surveillance and databasing goes hand in hand with this relationship between state and citizen

Because surveillance agencies are not under any law, they have been expanded into many areas. All surveillance and all agencies will necessarily have to come under a law.

Speaking of personal and non-personal data, we cannot talk in the state's language as it already takes away many of our rights. Non-personal data is really personal data. They want granular data, detailed digital footprints

Areas of databasing:

Fintech where providing data is made mandatory for transactions.

Health: National Health Stack is touted to potentially place India at the forefront of medical research in the world. @PMOIndia spoke about Health ID recently.

Use of crises and coercion to force people into databases. Reads from Aug 15 Economic Times story which talked of Covid19 pandemic being even better for digitization than demonetization.

Digital rights vs databasing. People have rights. It's not about say no to digital. But no mandatory use of Aarogya Setu app for travel.

Privacy is really about power and control. What is this idea of transparency we've brought in and what has it done to people's rights?

We need to be reflexive of our own approach to the debate, Usha concludes.

@SwetaDash93 then starts by talking about how technology itself being political as is our choice thereof.

Sweta talks of focusing on the "corporeality of bodies" and how the Covid19 pandemic has exposed faultlines in our understanding.

Data travesty during Covid19. Takes the example of capping treatment prices for Covid19 patients but no data being in the public domain.

She talks about Delhi govt mandating the need for IDs for Covid19 testing, which was set aside by the Delhi HC.

The general public is under a massive threat of technological surveillance and under threat of being made "atmanirbhar". The citizen cannot trust the state, Sweta concludes.

Navmee of SWAN to speak next.

Navmee of @StrandedWorkers speaks of the ground reality wherein workers couldn't access the schemes offered by the govts of their home states because of phone, network and app issues. Issues of receiving OTPs and money transfers.

Likewise use of technology for inter-state transport suffered from clarity as stranded migrant workers had to register with their state of residence as well as home state. Those from southern states suffered language barriers as well.

Navmee concludes by pointing out that @StrandedWorkers itself relies on technology to connect its network of activists so technology can be used beneficially during crises but this needs to be done widely.

@SameetPanda speaks next of #Aadhaar exclusions in Odisha

Sameet talks about 11 lakh people excluded from pensions, which came to light on checking the official data. When govt makes Aadhaar mandatory for social welfare, there are always exclusions.

@KapoorAstha of Aapti to speak next

.@KapoorAstha talks about platform workers being surveilled massively - body temperature taken and worker consent is bypassed. Risk of data breaches exist as well.

Globally unions are starting to talk about data rights of workers. Well-being of workers is not restricted to traditional ideas and also needs to include data protection. How can we improve access to certain kinds of data rights for workers? How can we create protections?

How does collective bargaining by workers actually happen?

We need to think about unlocking the value of data for workers? Special category needs to be created for workers' data. Collective bargaining can happen through data cooperatives.

Workers need to be allowed to collectivize and bargain for their data rights, Astha concludes.

@skchinmayi speaks next

.@skchinmayi begins by emphasising the need for equity of access (to mobile and Internet services). This gets amplified in a pandemic. E.g. of a village residen where the mobile tower is shared with five other villages. Internet access is intermittent.

How can we expect such people to remain functional digitally? Offline and online alternatives must be provided.

Corporates don't care about improving infrastructure.

Talks of the restrictions of access, e.g. for people in #JammuAndKashmir for whom long-term restrictions have impacted several aspects of life e.g. occupations. Studies have shown that there are psychological consequences, and also shown that there is no conflict reduction.

Govt has conducted no study to determine efficacy of restrictions, @skchinmayi concludes.

@deepika4mh to speak next.

Deepika begins with talking about govt services always being difficult to access; mandating Aadhaar has accentuated this. The right to healthcare is denied repeatedly. E.g. RT-PCR tests in Rajasthan required mandatory provision of Aadhaar, and for Covid19 drugs in Maharashtra

Healthcare rights include privacy and confidentiality. This needs more care during the pandemic. We saw in Bangalore how people who went for Covid19 tests started getting calls from private hospitals within a few days. Clearly test data is being leak.

The mandatory use of Aarogya Setu app has also been done as if it's the only possible way. The mentality of the govt reflects the asymmetry of power and needs to be questioned. This also diverts from the conditions imposed on access to fundamental health services.

Deepika concludes by reiterating the need to be alert to govt shifting the debate from easing access to basic healthcare services to talking about digitization of health data.

@kanksshi to speak next

.@kanksshi speaks about how the govt moves further away from citizens by greater deployment of technology. Says the pandemic highlighted a clear where technologies were being deployed vs countries where data protection laws were stringent.

Pressure on countries like India to launch contact tracing apps as if it was a race.

@kanksshi then cites #BlackLivesMatter and the custodial deaths #jayarajandbennix in questioning pervasive use of technology in law enforcement.

She speaks about use of facial recognition technology in Telangana for municipal elections as a way of using contactless tech. Warns about risks of deep fakes.

Then talks about inability to report gender-based violence online as no category exists for such complaints.

Anitha Gurumurthy @ITforChange is our first expert speaker. Talks about the PDP Bill and how govt arrogates unto itself certain powers.

Summary of Anita's points here

https://twitter.com/ITforChange/status/1295677316937297920?s=19

.@tripti2994 speaking about surveillance of bodies, about data being embodied. Citizens are at not at heart of policies. Instead they are fragmented and reduced to data points. E.g. Aarogya Setu disregards that data is subject to interpretation in reality

Data must always be understood in contextual settings, Tripti concludes.

Sidharth speaks next of navigating technological barriers in access justice via virtual courts.

.@spdesouza asks how we can come up with a solution that accounts for diversity of user experiences. Basic practical tools needed to be part of digital courts do not exist. Kenya came up with open air hearings to meet health and safety requirements while easing access.

Shubhranshu of @CGNet_Swara speaks next and rewinds the clock to the age of radio. Talks of evolution from radio to TV to internet. Talks of being from Bastar where majority prefer speaking and listening rather than reading and writing.

Emphasises the need to promote appropriate technology. Talks about journalists using @CGNet_Swara tools during pandemic. Gives the example of people using Bluetooth tech in areas without mobile connectivity. People are using "bultoo" radio, the only tech that reaches.

Need to recognise that all technologies have strengths and weaknesses. Digital is important but other modes such as voice also need to be supported. We need to invest in appropriate technologies that reach people

.@divijualsuspect speaks next, about constitutional rights being "probabilistic". We need to contend constitutionally with emerging technologies.

We're unable to track how our data is going out of our control and being used. Describes algorithmic discrimination by using proxies for information.

Probabilistic technologies are creating new ways of seeing citizens. Information is being collected in ways that assumes neutrality and non-discrimination but the use, for classification as citizens or non-citizens, needs to be understood. Systems need to be built bottom-up.

.@praymurray of @DesignBeku to speak next, highlighting the role of digital design in democratic process. Not enough scrutiny on impact of design.

Takes the example of #aarogyasetu_app whose design involved no inputs from frontline health workers.

Citizens need to be able to differentiate between manufactured and informed consent.

.@PaikraVipul talks about Aadhaar exclusions and Aadhaar enabled fraud, in the PMMVY scheme

Anusha of NETRI spoke about the need for incorporating gendered perspectives while mandating technology use.

@wisdom_stoic of The Perspective talked about the need for defining data jurisdictions.

@digitaldutta now speaking about 360° degree profiling, Enterprise Architecture

India EA linking all govt databases. Telangana wanted to copy Estonia's X-Road system, that's going national.

.@OsamaManzar of DEF is the third expert speaker for the session.

https://twitter.com/roadscholarz/status/1295695442114514945?s=19

Rajya Sabha MP @BinoyViswam1 has joined our session and will be responding to the issues raised.

Mr. Visvam asks what else is a police state if not this where the govt claims all power for itself via using technology to peep into the lives of people.

Technology is not the property of any individual or government. Technology came from knowledge and curiousity for further knowledge.

Article 21, the right to life and liberty is at the heart of the debate. All our rights are being taken away. Digital exploitation and plunder is being done by the govt with the full assistance of foreign capital.

We have to rally around Article 21, need to make it lively with a political meaning. The right to life, to live a dignified and glorified existence in the 21st century. Mr. Visvam concludes by sharing his experience as a member of the Sci & tech parliamentary committee.

Speaks about how the BJP-led committee became suddenly active in Jan/ Feb 2019 and insisted that FB, WhatsApp, and Twitter representatives come before the committee.

The committee wanted the CEOs of the companies to come before them. The committee grilled the representatives about the platforms being a threat to India's sovereignty. This went on for months.

Mr. Visvam concludes. We are now polling on the resolutions. Being read in English by @prasanna_s and in Hindi by @mv_meanderings

Out session has concluded. A huge thanks to all those spoke and everyone who attended.