Linking Aadhaar With Facebook, Whatsapp, Twitter: New Law Needs To Be Created By Govt, UIDAI Says

There has been plenty of news that revealed the Government’s intention to have us link our social media accounts, such as Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp with our Aadhaar number.

However, UIDAI has expressed their resentment towards such actions and has said that the Government will have to put a separate law in place if any such linking is required.

Previously, the Tamil Nadu Government moved the Supreme Court to make everyone link their Aadhaar card to Facebook necessary, to which Facebook responded with a firm no, citing privacy reasons.

What does UIDAI have to say about this?

Let’s find out!

Aadhaar Linking To Social Media: TN Government Moves Supreme Court

Tamil Nadu Government had approached the Supreme Court asking that everyone who has an account on Facebook, Whatsapp, Twitter, and other such social media handles, should link their Aadhaar number with their social media account.

In fact, the Govt asked for the social media portals to allow someone to open an account if they have provided their Aadhaar number. 

Facebook opposed this proposal strongly, stating their reason as, ironically, the privacy of users. 

And now, the UIDAI has also spoken against the issue raised by the Tamil Nadu Government. The Unique Identification Authority of India has declared that a new law will have to be put in place if the Government wants such linking. 

A government official has responded, “UIDAI responded to say that the government will need a new law if social media has to be linked to Aadhaar. UIDAI has reiterated several times that it is blind to the usage of the number and the usage can happen only if it is permitted by a law.”

Reasons UIDAI Opposed Social Media Linking of Aadhar Card; Why Is A Separate Law Necessary?

The current laws of the Aadhaar Act dictate that Aadhaar should only be only linked to welfare schemes and subsidies funded under the Consolidated Fund of India. For anything other than this, a separate law is required, said the UIDAI.

Moreover, the Government officials are of the opinion that linking Aadhaar card to social media accounts would not prove to be of any use as it is also not technically feasible. 

In order to link the Aadhaar card with social media accounts, the Government authorities would require underlying details, such as address and mobile number. However, this is not allowed by the Aadhaar Act. 

We’ll keep you informed as we get more updates!