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New Delhi: If you have used your Aadhaar card as an identity document to get your COVID-19 vaccine, chances are you have already been set up with a digital health ID.
Although Prime Minister Narendra Modi Nationwide rollout announced Earlier this week, the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), ThePrint found that digital health IDs under ABDM were already created for people who used their Aadhaar cards to register on the CoWin website. .
However, it is not clear whether consent was sought before the ID was generated. The ‘Unique Health ID’ is part of the description listed on the vaccination certificate.
“Whenever a person uses his/her Aadhaar number to register on CoWin, the digital health ID is automatically generated. The vaccination certificate will have that number. Consent would have been sought on the vaccination centre,” a senior health ministry official told ThePrint.
If a person has used a different identity document such as a driving license, PAN or passport to register on a driving license, PAN or passport, the health ID is not generated. The CoWin platform accepts six types of IDs apart from Aadhaar to register people.
The Unique Health ID is designed as a 14 digit identification number linked to an individual’s complete medical history, which is made available online with just a single click.
However, since the plan was announced in 2020Concerns have been raised about the privacy and security of the vast amount of data that is generated and linked to this system. Lawyers working in the field say the fact that IDs are being generated without user consent is potentially problematic.
ThePrint reached out to the National Health Authority (NHA) and the health ministry over phone and email for a comment, specifically on the number of digital IDs created in this way and how consent was sought, but did not receive a response till that time. This report is being published despite several reminders to the NHA on Wednesday and Thursday.
Officials said the response is “pending approvals at the highest levels”.
ThePrint also reached out to NHA CEO RS Sharma over phone and WhatsApp and no communication has been received so far.
Read also: India needs a digital health mission. But it also requires a data privacy law for it to work.
pilot program in six union territories
According to the data of the ABDM website, a total of 19,02,000 health IDs have been generated through the portal. On the CoWin portal, the number of vaccine registrations currently stands at 71,13,05,999. Most, officials said, were done using Aadhaar cards.
Prior to the nationwide launch on 27 September, ABDM pilots were being operated in the Union Territories of Puducherry, Chandigarh, Ladakh, Lakshadweep, and Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. The registration for these started last year.
Official sources told ThePrint that so far most health IDs have been generated through CoWin.
According to Digital Mission PolicyObtaining a unique health ID is voluntary.
“…. The participation of an individual in the NDHE (National Digital Health Ecosystem) shall be on a voluntary basis and where an individual wishes to participate, a Health ID (as defined in this Policy) shall be issued by the NDHM (National Digital Health Ecosystem). Mission). Where a person wishes to avail any health services, the person’s health ID may be verified with Aadhaar or any other method of identification as may be specified by the NDHM, “Health Data Policy Document stated in.
According to knowledgeable officials, the issue of lack of consent in health IDs generated through CoWin was discussed internally, and there is a problem when it comes to the data generated from such IDs.
“For now, it is just the vaccination certificate, but many people do not even know that they have been enrolled. There is a privacy issue there. This is the reason why the ABDM website no longer shows the total enrollment in the country, but the number of enrollments done through that portal,” a source told ThePrint.
‘Where’s the law?’
Legal experts say that creating a unique health ID without consent raises privacy concerns, but the big question is what is the legal framework behind the digital health mission?
“Health ID doesn’t have a legal framework. Without a legal framework you can’t have a national identifier for health. For everything they (central government) say health is a state subject. Then how did the central government create a health ID? is it?” Supreme Court lawyer Prasanna S, who deals with privacy matters.
“It is an ill-conceived and ill-conceived plan. There are definite privacy concerns in this. So the state has to be justified and the first part of it is the law. If it passes any law, we will know that it is beyond the legislative competence of the Centre. The Supreme Court had said that you should have a law, then why is it without a law? Did he even seek legal opinion? Which law officer did he consult and what did he say?” Prasanna added.
(Edited by Mansa Mohan)
Read also: Surveillance power, undermining privacy: Why Modi government’s data bill needs urgent amendment
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