SC cautions govt on linking Aadhaar with social media

The Supreme Court cautioned the government about the privacy implications of linking social media accounts with Aadhaar after attorney-general KK Venugopal created a stir with his remarks suggesting that such a move would help stamp out crime, terrorism and fake news among other scourges.

The court agreed to hear the pleas of Facebook and WhatsApp seeking the transfer of four public interest litigations (PILs) on such a linkage that are pending before the Madras, Bombay and Madhya Pradesh high courts.

The platforms wanted the court to resolve the question of whether this was feasible and appropriate under various central laws. Messaging app WhatsApp is owned by social media platform Facebook.