World's Largest Digital ID Plan Gets Top India Court Backing
- Activists claim program lays groundwork for mass surveillance
- Court says program not mandatory for bank, phone accounts
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India’s top court has refused to scrap the world’s largest biometric database, upholding the validity of the sprawling digital-identity program but imposing restrictions on its use -- including preventing the government from sharing citizens’ data with private companies.
Four out of five Supreme Court judges said the program is constitutionally sound for the distribution of state-sponsored welfare subsidies in a country where nearly a quarter of the 1.3 billion-strong population is poor. However, it cannot be made mandatory for opening bank accounts or providing mobile-phone connections, Justice A.K. Sikri told the courtroom, though it is required for Indians paying income tax.