IFF urges EC to investigate misuse of apps in voting malpractices
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The Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) has raised serious concerns about voter data privacy in a letter to the Election Commission of India (ECI), citing the outcome of a series of investigations conducted by The Wire, which shed light on alleged malpractices and extensive misuse of booth management apps by political parties, posing significant risks to voter privacy and electoral integrity.
Addressed to Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, the IFF's letter draws attention to a troubling network of data brokers and booth management applications. These tools reportedly provide voter data to political parties under the guise of unofficial voter slips, in violation of the Model Code of Conduct for 2024.
The Wire's investigation revealed that these apps enable booth-level agents to access detailed voter information, including phone numbers not disclosed by the ECI. Such data is often used for conducting surveys on behalf of political candidates, collecting information about voters' professions, governmental demands, opinions on schemes, and even caste details. This capability allows political parties to profile and micro-target voters, identifying those favourable or unfavourable to their campaigns for future elections.
The IFF's letter highlights the potential for manipulation inherent in this system. With access to comprehensive voter data, parties can tailor their campaigning efforts, possibly even engaging in bribery or altering voter rolls to secure electoral advantages.
More concerning is the fact that rival candidates are being sold the same voter data from a common database, indicating that a single data broker supplies software and voter information to various apps operating under different brand names.
Upon examining these apps, The Wire examination identified a list of clients who had purchased the software, detailing the elections they were used for, the salespersons involved, and the brand names under which the apps were sold.
The report identified at least 4,000 candidates across various political parties who utilized these apps in recent local corporations, state assemblies, and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. This extensive use underscores the widespread nature of this issue.
Despite the ECI's acknowledgement of the use of such apps by candidates, the commission has not yet adequately addressed the privacy implications or the potential misuse of personal voter data.