From Proprietary Code To Public Accountability: Rethinking Vendor Power In India’s Algorithmic Welfare State
- IJLLR Journal
- 2 days ago
- 1 min read
Ch V Sai Bhavya, Amity Law School, Noida, AUUP
Jaiverdhan Singh, Amity Law School, Noida, AUUP
ABSTRACT
Private technology vendors using Aadhaar-linked digital welfare systems to automate India’s rapid transition, are shifting the decision-making power from the public bureaucracies. These proprietary systems are implemented to boost efficiency, but have created opaque “black box” which leads to systematic exclusions through biometric & algorithmic errors, violating fundamental rights under Articles 14 & 21. Consequently, private vendors hide behind “trade secrecy” while the state evades constitutional scrutiny by outsourcing its core welfare functions, resulting in lack of procedural recourse to the common citizens. To eliminate this accountability void, this paper advocates applying the "public function" test to classify algorithmic vendors as "State" under Article 12 of the Indian Constitution. In order to ensure digital governance that prioritizes civil rights over private proprietary rights, constitutional obligations need to be extended to private vendors that would ultimately dismantle trade secret shields, rebalance evidentiary burden and restore judicial review.
Keywords: Algorithmic Governance, Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), Welfare Delivery, Public Function Test, Vendor Accountability, Trade Secrecy, Black Box Systems.
