2009/6/27 Nikhil Marathe nsm.nikhil@gmail.com:
Hi all,
Nandan Nilekani is to start the process of issuing every Indian citizen an identity card. But are the platform/readers and so on based on open source standards, such that you or I can verify that it doesn't have flaws or hidden backdoors which can be misused?
Are we missing the real picture here? This EFF article discussed issues of a National ID card as they planned in the US.
http://w2.eff.org/Privacy/Surveillance/nationalidsystem.html
Also RMS wrote about it,
"A South African woman is in difficulties because she cannot get a national ID card. It requires a fingerprint, but she has no fingers.
To require citizens to give the government their fingerprints for ordinary life activities is unjust even if they do have fingers. National ID cards should be abolished everywhere. "
http://stallman.org/archives/2008-may-aug.html#07%20May%202008%20%28National...
To get an idea of what is possible when every movement of yours is tracked, read this http://www.boingboing.net/2007/09/17/scroogled-cclicensed.html
I would like to see more debates on the loss of privacy of the people and more state surveilance.
I couldn't find anything on Google. Anyone has any ideas?
Thanks, Nikhil
- Praveen