In a dare TRAI chief makes Aadhaar details public, Twitter responds with his PAN, phone number
New Delhi, July 29: An all-out war erupted on Twitter after TRAI chairman R S Sharma today disclosed his Aadhaar number on the microblogging site and challenged everyone to show how mere knowledge of the unique number could be used to harm him, triggering a deluge of tweets that claimed to disclose his personal details from PAN to mobile number.
The challenge by Sharma evoked an immediate response from the Twitterati, with some users claiming to have dug up his mobile number, photographs, residential address, date of birth and even chat threads using the information, while others warned him about the perils of throwing such a dare on the social media platform. While much of the information that was dug out may already be in the public domain, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) official did not verify whether the details pertaining to his PAN were indeed correct.
When
contacted
by
PTI
earlier
in
the
evening,
Sharma
declined
to
make
any
detailed
comment
on
the
matter
by
saying,
"Let
the
challenge
run
for
some
time".
Giving
out
his
full
Aadhaar
number,
the
TRAI
chairman
had
tweeted:
"Now
I
give
this
challenge
to
you:
Show
me
one
concrete
example
where
you
can
do
any
harm
to
me!"
The
challenge
by
Sharma
has
got
over
2,850
retweets,
and
3,364
likes,
and
the
numbers
continued
to
climb
well
into
the
night.
Sharma
himself
continued
to
engage
in
the
verbal
duel
with
the
Twitterati
till
late
hours,
dismissing
much
information
being
revealed
as
'public
information' and
seeking
to
debunk
the
theory
that
"Aadhaar
compromises
the
privacy
of
the
person".
"...Yeh
details
koi
state
scret
nahin
hain
(These
details
are
no
state
secret)...,"
retorted
Sharma
at
one
point,
even
chiding
one
of
the
users
for
disclosing
an
address
that
was
old
and
asking
if
he
(the
user)
would
like
to
have
his
latest
address.
A
French
security
expert
who
goes
under
the
pseudonym
Elliot
Alderson,
(@fs0c131y)
wrote,
"People
managed
to
get
your
personal
address,
dob
(date
of
birth)
and
your
alternate
phone
number.
I
stop
here,
I
hope
you
will
understand
why
make
your
#Aadhaar
number
public
is
not
a
good
idea."
While
many
on
Twitter
claimed
victory
over
'leaking'
Sharma's
personal
details
post
the
challenge,
the
TRAI
chief
asserted
through
multiple
tweets
and
replies
that
the
challenge
had
never
been
about
phone
numbers
and
other
information,
but
for
causing
harm
using
knowledge
of
his
Aadhaar
number.
"No
I
did
not
challenge
them
for
phone
number
and
other
info.
I
challenged
them
for
causing
me
harm!
So
far
no
success.
Wish
them
luck,"
Sharma
wrote
on
Twitter.
The high drama played out on the microblogging platform just a day after Justice Srikrishna committee came out with its report on data protection where it mooted changes in the Aadhaar Act and proposed new safeguards to protect information of Aadhaar holders. Sharma, former UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) director general, has been an ardent supporter of the Aadhaar program, vouching for the safety of the system, and dispelling privacy concerns surrounding Aadhaar even during his current tenure as TRAI Chief.
"Data privacy is a big and very important issue in a digital world. I am one of the most vociferous supporter of that. However, the only thing I am saying is that Aadhaar does not violate privacy," Sharma tweeted today. Meanwhile, Justice Srikrishna panel on data protection has recommended that the Aadhaar Act be amended "significantly" to bolster privacy safeguards, and mooted that only public authorities discharging public functions approved by the UIDAI or entities mandated by law be given the right to request for identity authentication.
The report, submitted yesterday, assumes significance given that public and private sectors are collecting and using personal data on an unprecedented scale and for various purposes, and instances of unregulated and arbitrary use, especially that of personal data, have raised concerns about privacy and autonomy of an individual. Over the last one year, there have also been reports of personal information being allegedly compromised with increasing use of biometric identifier Aadhaar in an array of services.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has reserved its judgement on a clutch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar Act.