NEW DELHI: The Indian government named a reporter in a police complaintafter she wrote an article alleging a data breach in a federal identitydatabase, drawing criticism from a journalist group that accused officialsof trying to muzzle free speech.
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which runs theworld’s largest biometric identity card scheme called “Aadhaar”, startedinvestigating a report last week by The Tribune newspaper which said accessto the identity database of more than 1 billion citizens was being sold forjust 500 rupees, or $8 (6 pounds), on social media.
UIDAI on Sunday said four people were named in its complaint to police inNew Delhi to investigate the incident, including the reporter, and also hernewspaper, which is based in the north Indian city of Chandigarh.
The Editors Guild of India condemned UIDAI’s action, saying it was designedto “browbeat a journalist.”
“It is unfair, unjustified and a direct attack on the freedom of thepress,” the Guild said in a statement on Sunday.
The UIDAI said in a statement on Sunday that it respects freedom of press,adding that it was duty bound to name everyone involved in the incident,including the reporter.
“It does not mean that those who are named in the report are necessarilyguilty,” the authority said.
The Tribune newspaper said it regretted the decision of the authorities.
India last year slipped three places to 136th in the World Press FreedomIndex of 180 nations, compiled by Reporters Without Borders.
Journalists in India have increasingly become targets of online smearcampaigns, with prosecutorial actions being used to gag journalists who areoverly critical of the government, the group said.
The Tribune newspaper last week reported that it was able to buy logincredentials to the government’s Aadhaar database, allowing it to acquireinformation such as the names, telephone numbers and home addresses ofmillions of people.
The alleged breach is the latest in the Aadhaar programme which is facingincreasing scrutiny over privacy concerns.
After the report was published, the UIDAI said the “case appears to be aninstance of misuse.”
The Aadhaar scheme was introduced in 2009 to streamline welfare paymentsand reduce wastage in public spending.
Since then, the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been keen tomandate the use of Aadhaar for everything from filing income taxes to theregistration of mobile phone numbers and booking railway tickets.