Aarogya Setu 76k5d Kerala High Court Seeks Government Reply Over Challenge to Mandatory App

Mandatory use of the app forces a to "give away data to a system which he may or may not approve of," the petiton said. 4s663k

By Reuters | Updated: 8 May 2020 17:59 IST

Aarogya Setu: Kerala High Court Seeks Government Reply Over Challenge to Mandatory App

Photo Credit: Reuters/ Adnan Abidi 1z6b1j

New Delhi has said the app will not infringe privacy as data is collected anonymously

Highlights

The court has fixed a hearing on May 12
India launched the Aarogya Setu, or "Health Bridge", app last month
It has been ed by about 9.4 crore Indians

ment

Kerala High Court asked the Indian government on Friday to respond to a challenge against its order for making the use of the Aarogya Setu app compulsory for public and private sector employees returning to work amid the world's biggest coronavirus lockdown.

India coronavirus.

But mandatory use of the app forces a to "give away data to a system which he may or may not approve of, thereby attacking his right of informational autonomy," a member of the opposition Congress party said in a petition to the high court in Kerala.

Aarogya Setu Flaw Reveals Details of Unwell People in PMO: French Hacker

"Such coercive and forcible extraction of personal information from an individual is unheard of in a democratic and republic setup and it is attribute of a dictatorial system," said the petition, a copy of which was reviewed by Reuters.

The court has fixed a hearing on May 12.

India's technology ministry did not immediately respond to an email from Reuters to seek comment.

Aarogya Setu Tracing App Raises Privacy Concerns in India

The app was initially available only on smartphones running on Apple's iOS, leaving out nearly 40 crore people who use only basic feature phones.

Officials at the tech ministry and a lawyer who framed the app's have said it needs to be on at least 20 crore phones to be effective among a population of 130 crores.

Now, seeking to widen its use, New Delhi plans to Jio Phone, Reuters has reported.

The app can help authorities identify virus hotspots and better target health efforts, the tech ministry said in late April, adding that information would be used "only for istering necessary medical interventions".

New Delhi has said the app will not infringe privacy as data is collected anonymously.

As India scales back in low-risk zones the shutdown that began on March 25, it has vowed to hold company heads responsible for ensuring that all returning workers use the app.

including a French hacker, have raised privacy concerns and want the app's source code made public, but the government says it is safe.

App use should be mandatory only in containment zones, Delhi-based think tank The Dialogue told the government, calling for independent data auditing to preserve checks and balances.

Many nations are using similar apps but some, such as Australia and Colombia, are turning to technology from Apple and Google amid citizens' privacy concerns and glitchy state-backed systems.

India has reported over 56,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 1,800 deaths.

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