The agency behind the world's largest biometric identification system drops its plan to monitor online activity

• The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has scrapped its plan to monitor and track citizens on social media — and has no plans of doing so in the future.
• A tender floated by UIDAI in July 2018 invited social media agencies to employ a ‘social listening tool’ to monitor and address ‘negative sentiments’.
• The proposal undermined Aadhar’s sole purpose of accommodating social welfare has been accused of violating the fundamental rights to privacy, freedom of speech, liberty and equality.

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which manages the biometric identities of more than a billion Indians, is going back on its plan to monitor social media — for good.

The Attorney General told the Supreme Court that UIDAI is withdrawing its tender and won’t be floating anything along the same lines in the future, according to Bar&Bench. The tender, issued in July 2018, invited companies to help the apex agency employ a ‘social listening tool’ to track and monitor online conversations relating to Aadhaar.

It was floated as UIDAI looking for a social media agency to manage its online platforms. The tender was then accused of violating the constitutional rights to privacy, equality, personal liberty and the freedom of speech.

Here are all the reasons why it was a good call for UIDAI backtrack on its plan: