Worried about snooping, India won’t partner with Google for elections
The Commission Election of India (CEI) has decided not to select Google as a partner to create an online voter registration tool that would also provide information about voting locations and card numbers.
“Google made a presentation to the Commission for electoral look up services for citizens... However, after due consideration, the Commission has decided not to pursue the proposal any further,” wrote Dhirendra Ojha, the director of the commission, in a statement on Thursday.
Citing unnamed CEI officials, Reuters reported that Google was dropped because the company had not offered any major improvements. Also, the company's services were declined given strained relations between India and the US over a new diplomatic spat and previous concerns of surveillance and spying in the wake of the Snowden disclosures.