India the only democratic country that mandates use of tracking app like Arogya Setu

The Court was hearing a plea challenging the mandatory downloading and use of the Aarogya Setu app for accessing public services.

app

From the time of its inception, Aarogya Setu has been under controversy due to security and privacy concerns. The app is a COVID–19 “contact tracing, syndromic mapping, and self-assessment” digital service, primarily a mobile app, developed by the National Informatics Centre under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

The stated purpose of this app is to spread awareness of COVID–19 and to connect essential COVID–19-related health services to the people of India.

Senior Advocate Colin Gonsalves on Friday submitted the plea about the usage of such a tracking app in a democratic country like India. 

Arguing before the Bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Vishwajith Shetty, Gonsalves sought interim relief in the matter.

He stated that, “India is the only democratic nation making the app mandatory.….While on paper, downloading the Aarogya Setu App is not mandatory, however, all government organizations, private companies, and landlords are compelling to use the app. In fact, Noida is threatening to fine people if the app is not downloaded.

Also Read- Aarogya Setu: The COVID-19 tracking app, another Surveillance tool?

Presenting the Justice KS Puttaswamy (Retd.) and Anr. v. Union Of India, Gonsalves contended that “purpose limitation” as envisaged in the 2019 judgment was not being followed by the Central government.

“This app (Aarogya Setu) is going all over the place. It is being used as an e-pass, it is being used for donation, telemedicine, etc. Even the health sector is very interested in the app,” he said.

Gonsalves proceeded to state that a data controller cannot give data to third parties (in this case, the Centre) unless specific and informed consent is obtained from its users.

Aarogya Setu uses the smartphone’s GPS and Bluetooth features to track the coronavirus infection. The app is available for Android and iOS mobile operating systems. With Bluetooth, it tries to determine the risk if one has been near (within six feet of) a COVID–19-infected person, by scanning through a database of known cases across India. Using location information determines whether the location one is in belongs to one of the infected areas based on the data available.

He also highlighted the drawbacks of the tracking app, stating that employers will now get access to the health status/condition, location, etc. of their employees.

In Chandigarh, the colleges have made downloading of Arogya Setu mandatory.

The Senior Advocate also shed light on the massive leaks of data stored on the app citing multiple newspaper articles.

Gonsalves replied that the leaked data of the app’s users were available on the internet. Aarogya Setu’s own contractors are showing that there are massive leaks of data, he added.

The Court was informed that according to an article published in The Economic Times, the data of over 10,000 COVID-19 patients who downloaded the app, found its way to the internet.

Referring to the terms and conditions of the app, Gonsalves pointed out that when one registers on the app, some information is collected and stored on a server operated by the Government of India. However, the Centre is refuting this now in its affidavit, he argued.

There have been complaints of the imposition of Aarogya Setu by officials of Passport Seva Kendra, Mumbai and a petition was also filed in the Bombay High Court. While the use of Aarogya Setu is voluntary on their website, it has been made mandatory in practice by the Respondents and is in fact a de-facto imposition of the use of the mobile application.

Last month, the Court had sought the response of the Central government on the data collected by it when a person downloads and uses the Aarogya Setu mobile application.
The Centre will make its submissions on December 15.

Donate

Independent journalism can’t be independent without your support, contribute by clicking below.

March 2024
M T W T F S S
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here