A Guide to Litigating Identity Systems
c) The dissenting opinion in the Aadhaar judgment also raises concerns of
tracking, stating: “biometric data not only allows individuals to be
tracked, but it also creates the potential for the collection of an
individual’s information and its incorporation into a comprehensive
profile.”132
d) The Kenyan High Court prohibits the collection of GPS coordinates in the
Kenyan national identity system partly because the coordinates could be
used to “track and monitor people without their knowledge.”133 The court
also prohibits the collection of DNA information for use in the system,
referencing the ability to use DNA and other biometric identifiers for
“negative profiling of individuals for ulterior motives.”134
e) The majority in the Aadhaar judgment is satisfied that exact information
regarding the purpose of an authentication request is not stored in the
Aadhaar system, but the majority also points out that some data
regarding location is recorded.135 The majority opinion in the Aadhaar
judgment rejects profiling concerns, but relies on anonymisation, data
minimisation, and the use of data silos to reach this conclusion.136 If these
facets of the system did not exist, the majority may not have reasoned as
it did.
132 Aadhaar Judgment, ¶ 239 of dissent.
133 Huduma Namba Judgment, ¶ 768.
134 Huduma Namba Judgment, ¶ 767.
135 Aadhaar Judgment, ¶ 197 at 276.
136 Aadhaar Judgment, ¶ 208 at 285.
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