"Use Normal Prudence": Centre Withdraws Aadhaar Photocopy Misuse Warning
NDTV
The Unique Identification Authority of India, or UIDAI, in the earlier statement had suggested the use of masked Aadhaar, which shows only the last four digits of the document
The government has withdrawn a statement "with immediate effect" that asked people not to share photocopies of Aadhaar over misuse risks. It withdrew the statement "in view of the possibility of the misinterpretation of the press release", the government said today.
The Unique Identification Authority of India, or UIDAI, in the earlier statement had suggested the use of masked Aadhaar, which shows only the last four digits of the document, and not to share photocopies of the unmasked document with random organisations.
The Aadhaar authority's statement came under criticism from privacy experts and activists on social media, who said the UIDAI should have taken care of this risk a long time ago and informed the public then.
The latest government statement, however, indicated this criticism is based on a misinterpretation of the advisory, as the UIDAI only advised people to "exercise normal prudence in using and sharing their Aadhaar numbers."