The country of India is already touted as a surveillance state. However, as it deals with the aftermath of the virus pandemic, the nation has turned to contact-tracing apps and technology that further targets the surveillance and privacy of its citizens.
In attempts to curb the number of infected cases in the country, India has released a contact-tracing mobile-based application named Aarogya Setu. Geared for smartphone use, the app provides updates and notifications should users come in contact with one another, notes U.S. News & World Report.
To access the app, individuals must provide their name, age, gender, profession, as well as contact numbers. Likewise, the app takes into account the recent international travel history of users, alongside any possible symptoms that may relate to the virus.
In addition, users may also disclose their health risks and conditions, including but not limited to diabetes, heart or lung conditions, as well as hypertension and the like. Interactions with a person who tested positive for the virus should also be disclosed, reports U.S. News & World Report.
All of these are made possible via the app’s self-assessment feature.
As of writing, the Aarogya Setu app currently has 124 million users, which is less than one-tenth of India’s whole population.
With such widespread access to personal and private information, individuals and security experts expressed worry over the growing surveillance technology being utilized by their government.
In a statement, Internet Freedom Foundation executive director Apar Gupta said, “The basic worry with the use of the app is privacy and surveillance. There is policing of people through Aarogya Setu as they enter and exit office buildings and residential complexes.”
With the app operating in the country without overarching surveillance and privacy law, The Wire India states that this could pose dangers to the security, privacy, and protection of citizens “against the larger public interests.”
Because of these, together with the lack of legislative foundation laid out to the citizens of India, The Wire believes that the country deserves to have a surveillance law that goes beyond personal data protection.
Though the contact-tracing app has issued statements to allay the worries of its users, Asia Times notes that there is still a pressing need for legal coverage to secure the privacy of its citizens.
In line with this, the New York Times reveals that the Indian government is proposing the establishment of a Data Protection Authority that regulates the landscape.
Apart from the dangers posed by the app to the privacy and protection of the people, a fake Aarogya Setu program has reportedly been used to conduct phishing attacks in Pakistan, which were being initiated to compromise devices of state officials in India.
