RTDAI facial recognition system built using voters' photos: Researcher
Researcher Srinivas Kodali has accused the Telangana government of using voters' photos—originally collected for elections—to build a facial recognition system called RTDAI, without public consent.
He's filed a complaint with the Election Commission and state officials, saying this move crosses privacy lines and goes against Supreme Court orders.
Case now with IT department
This isn't just about tech—it's about trust. The RTDAI system, which was first used to verify pensioners in Telangana and later piloted in an electoral context, now pops up in things like pensions and school admissions.
Kodali points out that sharing and reusing these photos (especially after the Supreme Court banned Aadhaar-voter ID linking back in 2015) puts voter privacy at risk.
The case is now with the IT department, but it raises big questions about how our data is used—and who gets to decide.