On 14th April 2020, the Honourable Prime Minister of India urged every citizen of this country to install the ‘Aarogya Setu’ mobile application, after which it came to be the fastest application to have fifty million downloads in just thirteen days. One of the precautionary measures taken by the Indian Government to beat this pandemic is the Aarogya Setu application.
What is the ‘Aarogya Setu’ application?
This is a contact tracing application, developed by the National Informatics Centre, which monitors a person’s interactivity with other people. This is made possible through the usage of a Bluetooth and Location powered mapping system. Using a mobile’s GPS facilities, a record of Aarogya Setu users nearby are detected through Bluetooth and kept in record. This application essentially was designed to keep track of the app user’s interactivity with other users and to alert them if they come into contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19.
In wake of the installation and usage of this app being made mandatory for several office goers and all citizens in containment zones, there has been an abundance of concerns being raised concerning the ‘right to privacy’. A lot of questions have been raised about the lack of an efficient framework and legal protection.
Right to Privacy.
The Indian Constitution under Article 21, encompasses the ‘Right to Privacy’ which is a sine qua non of the Right to Life and Personal Liberty. This opinion was reiterated by the Supreme Court in the landmark case, K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India 2017 (10) SCC 1. The court opined that the right to privacy was indeed a fundamental right under Article 21. Regardless of this, there is no efficient legal policy concerning this.
The Aarogya Setu application requires its users to furnish details such as name, age, gender, contact number, profession, countries traveled to within the last thirty days, etc. This application mainly compiles demographic, contact, self-assessment, and geographical data. It should also be noted that under the privacy policy of this app the government is allowed to share any such information that has been compiled by the app, to carry out medical and administrative interventions. Therefore, doubt looms in the minds of people concerning their privacy. The lack of efficient regulation regarding digital surveillance attaches a plausible risk to the users of this application. Failure to implement regulating legislation that protects and preserves the right of privacy would mean failure of the constitutional machinery awarding these rights. Although the public has shown acceptance through the usage of this application, as this is something that is urgently required to track and overcome this pandemic, the fear of a data breach and having almost no privacy is still a prevalent concern in the mind of people. It is high time that these concerns and questions surrounding this application be addressed.
This Article Does Not Intend To Hurt The Sentiments Of Any Individual Community, Sect, Or Religion Etcetera. This Article Is Based Purely On The Authors Personal Views And Opinions In The Exercise Of The Fundamental Right Guaranteed Under Article 19(1)(A) And Other Related Laws Being Force In India, For The Time Being.
