EFF.org: Can India's Biometric Identity Program Aadhaar Be Fixed?

[unAadhaarit]

Can India's Biometric Identity Program Aadhaar Be Fixed?

The current Aadhaar regime is structured to radically centralize the implementation of Indian government and private digital authentication systems. But a credible national identity system cannot be created by an opaque, unaccountable centralized agency that chooses not to follow democratic procedures when creating its rules.

By making Aadhaar mandatory, UIDAI has taken away the right of individuals to exit these unsatisfactory arrangements.

All in all, it's hard to see how this mess can be fixed without scrapping the system and—perhaps—starting again from scratch. As drastic as that sounds, the current Supreme Court challenge may, ironically, provide a golden opportunity to revamp the fatally flawed existing institutional arrangements behind Aadhaar, and provide the Indian government with a fresh opportunity to learn from the mistakes that brought it to this point.

Lets not fall prey to sunk cost fallacy.