AADHAAR: An Invasion of
Privacy
Case
Aadhaar is the world’s largest
biometric system in the world, with over 1.71 billion users. The idea was
created in 2009, and the first cards were distributed in September of 2010. The
system is located in India and has given identity to a large mass of Indian’s
who lacked any legal documents before. It is a system that uses finger prints,
retina scans, demographic information, and a unique 12 digit number to identify
Indian citizens. World Bank Chief Paul Romer described Aadhaar as, “the most
sophisticated ID programmed in [the] world””(Pavithraa).
The issue
at hand when it comes to Aadhaar is that the citizens of India believe it is a
blatant invasion of privacy. Individuals are being forced to use their use
their numbers for almost every aspect of everyday life. The numbers are used
for health records, education, and even cellphones. Their information is not in
a system that is not the most secure, and they feel unsafe, and scared about
it. “Data mining businesses use this information and send targeted advertising
(Khera).
There are numerous
examples of fraud and identity theft which makes these individuals, who are
forced to use their unique numbers, believe they have no privacy. There have
been many attempts to increase security or just hold Aadhaar accountable for
their invasion to privacy. Unfortunately, the biggest and most solid argument
that Aadhaar has is that there is no constitutional right to privacy in India. ‘Over
the past year or so, at least 15 deaths were reported after people were denied
basic resources when their identities could not be verified due to Aadhaar
system errors. Seven occurred because people were denied subsidized grain on account
of Aadhaar related glitches” (Khera).
Stakeholders
The
stakeholders in this situation are the individuals who obtain these cards and
are forced to use their numbers for so much of their life, they begin to feel
threatened because they have lost all right to privacy. They enter these
numbers in to these systems, and in the back of their heads they know that
their information is not safe or secure.
Individualism
An
individualist wouldn’t view this case as unethical. The idea of individualism
is to maximize profits as long as it stays within the law. Aadhaar hasn’t actually broken any laws since
the right to privacy isn’t a constitutional right. They proceed their actions,
and their business without losing any profits, and without being on the wrong
side of the law. That way it doesn’t act unethically under Individualism.
Utilitarianism
Viewing
this case from a utilitarian standpoint, this case would be highly unethical.
Utilitarianism is typically identified with the policy of “maximizing the
overall good” or, in a slightly different version, of producing, “the greatest
good for the greatest number” (DeJardins 29). With that being said, Aadhaar
never produced the greatest good for the greatest number since their system was
weak and easily compromised. The stakeholders never felt happy, and never felt
safe due to this system, which makes what Aadhaar was doing unethical.
A Kantian theorist
would view this situation as unethical. In Kantianism, their needs to be mutual
respect between everyone, and respect for everyone to make their own decisions.
In this case, there was no ability for the individuals to make their own
decision as they were practically forced to use their unique numbers for
everything. “Always act in ways that respect and honor individuals and their
choices. Don’t lie, cheat, manipulate or harm others to get your way” (Salazar
20). Aadhaar did not respect their stakeholders, and never gave them any say or
choice in this case.
Virtue Theory
A virtue
theorist would view this case as unethical. “Act so as to embody a variety of
virtuous or good character traits and so as to avoid vicious or bad character
traits” (Salazar 23). Aadhaar did not act virtuous due to the fact that they
never made any attempt to make themselves look better. They turned down and
neglected all the problems that were being brought to them. They acted very
selfishly in a system that has clear flaws, and refused to fix any problems.
References
DesJardins, Joseph; DesJardins,
Joseph. An Introduction to Business Ethics (Page 1). McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Kindle Edition.
Khera, Reetika. “These Digital IDs Have Cost
People Their Privacy - and Their Lives.” The Washington Post, WP
Company, 9 Aug. 2018,
www.washingtonpost.com/news/theworldpost/wp/2018/08/09/aadhaar/?utm_term=.103272877fde.
Pavithraa.
“Aadhaar Card: An Invasion to Privacy.” Probation:
A Study In The Indian Context - Probation of Offenders Act, www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-34-aadhaar-card-an-invasion-to-privacy.html.
Salazar,
Heather. The Business Ethics Case Manual:
The Authoritative Step-by-Step Guide
to Understanding and Improving the
Ethics of Any Business. Print.
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