Search

Aadhaar Linking to Social Media Accounts: Supreme Seeks Response on Facebook Plea From Stakeholders, Centre

Aadhaar linking to social media accounts will help in identifying criminals, asserts Tamil Nadu government.

Advertisement
Highlights
  • Matter is now listed for further hearing on September 13
  • Aadhaar linking will be used to authenticate users
  • Facebook opposes this on grounds of user privacy
Aadhaar Linking to Social Media Accounts: Supreme Seeks Response on Facebook Plea From Stakeholders, Centre

Aadhaar linking to social media accounts would violate privacy policy of users, claims Facebook

The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a notice to the Centre and others seeking their response on Facebook's plea to transfer four cases from three High Courts to itself. The cases sought to link Aadhaar or other government authorised identity proofs to social media accounts for authentication. The responses would help the apex court decide whether social networking sites should be compelled to share with police information pertaining to criminals. 

The apex court sought responses from social media entities Facebook, Twitter, Google, YouTube, apart from the Centre and Tamil Nadu Government, on Facebook's plea, and listed the matter for further hearing on September 13. However, the Supreme Court did not stay proceedings in the High Courts but refrained them from passing any final order.

The Supreme Court's order came on the submission made by Facebook that the transfer of cases would serve the interests of justice by avoiding the possibility of conflicting decisions from the High Courts.

Facebook told the apex court that two petitions had been filed in the Madras High Court and one each in the Bombay and Madhya Pradesh High Courts. All the pleas in three High Courts have sought a declaration that Aadhaar or any other government authorised identity proof should be made mandatory to authenticate social media accounts.

"All the common cases seeks similar relief and involve the similar question of law," Facebook said in its plea, adding that any finding on the common questions would have far-reaching implications for the general public and the parties. The petitioner has sought a stay on the proceedings in various High Courts.

A bench headed by Justice Deepak Gupta observed that the top court needed to find a balance between the right to online privacy and the duty to detect people who spread panic and commit crime online. “There is a conflict between privacy and how the government should run the country when crimes are committed. There has to be a balance... under what condition information can be given and to whom,” the Supreme Court said.

Appearing for the Tamil Nadu Government, Attorney General K.K. Venugopal cited incidents of online games like Blue Whale which had caused deaths in India and said that the service providers did not provide details of the 'originator'.

He cited crime including terrorism and pornography and said that there was no mechanism to detect the originator and that sharing of information by social media sites with police would help in resolving crimes.

The apex court on Monday was told by the Tamil Nadu government that social media profiles of users need to be linked with Aadhaar numbers to check circulation of fake, defamatory, and pornographic content as also anti-national and terror material. Facebook is resisting the state's suggestion on grounds that sharing of Aadhaar would violate privacy policy of users. Facebook had said that it cannot share Aadhaar number with a third party as the content on its instant messaging app WhatsApp was end-to-end encrypted and even it does not have access to it.

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

 
Show Full Article
Please wait...
Advertisement

Related Stories

Popular Mobile Brands
  1. Oppo F29 5G, Oppo F29 Pro 5G Key Features Confirmed Ahead of India Launch
  2. Vodafone Idea (Vi) 5G Service Goes Live in Mumbai: Check Plans
  3. Here's How Much Apple's Foldable iPhone May Cost
  4. Vivo V50 Lite 4G With 50-Megapixel Main Camera, 6,500mAh Battery Launched
  5. Pixel 9a Pricing Leaked by Retailer; Design Tipped via Early Review Video
  6. Vivo X200 Ultra Colour Options and Key Specifications Tipped
  7. Vivo V50e India Launch Timeline, Design Details Surface Online
  8. Infinix Note 50X 5G Design, Colour Options, Chipset Details Revealed
  9. Samsung Announces One UI 7 Release Date for Galaxy S24 and More Phones
  1. Crypto Price Today: Bitcoin Steady at $83,000, Altcoins See Mixed Moves Amid Market Fluctuations
  2. Vivo X200 Ultra Colour Options Leaked; Tipped to Get 2K Resolution Display
  3. Oppo F29 5G, Oppo F29 Pro 5G Key Features Revealed Ahead of March 20 India Launch
  4. BWA Launches 100-Day Crypto SAFE Campaign to Educate Web3 Investors on Risks
  5. James Webb Space Telescope Captures Hourglass Nebula LBN 483 in Stunning Detail
  6. Microlightning in Water Droplets Could Explain the Origin of Life on Earth
  7. NASA’s Space Station Research Aids Lunar Missions With Key Technologies
  8. ISRO SpaDeX Successfully Undocks, Advancing Chandrayaan-4 and Gaganyaan
  9. Fossil Evidence Shows Plants Survived the End-Permian Mass Extinction in China
  10. Starliner Astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore Return to Earth with Crew-9
Gadgets 360 is available in
Download Our Apps
App Store App Store
Available in Hindi
App Store
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2025. All rights reserved.
Trending Products »
Latest Tech News »