Kerala High Court Stays Government Messaging Amidst Privacy Concerns

The Kerala High Court has extended its directive to halt government messaging on achievements until March 2, following claims of privacy invasion. Petitioners argue these messages, linked to the Kerala State Information Technology Mission, constitute intrusions and election campaigning by accessing private employee data without consent.

The Kerala High Court has extended its directive until March 2, prohibiting the dissemination of messages that highlight the state's achievements. The decision follows concerns raised over privacy intrusion related to unauthorized data usage.

Petitioners Dr. Rasheed Ahammed and Anil Kumar K M presented additional documents in court, alleging that messages sent by the state government constituted an election campaign. The messages reportedly accessed private data from the SPARK system, a digital platform managing HR and payroll information of state employees.

The government defends the practice, stating that the messages were disbursed by the Kerala State Information Technology Mission, not from the Chief Minister's Office. The court will further address these issues on March 2, as the debate over data privacy and election fairness continues.

(With inputs from agencies.)