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Context
The recent Facebook controversy is a wake-up call to press ahead with a robust data protection law
Issues highlighted
- Involvement of Elections and politics
- Need of a policy: Regardless of whether what Facebook and CA did was legal or not, something is broken in a policy environment in which the data of millions are taken and used when only 270,000 people knowingly or unknowingly gave consent
- Re-framing of current laws in pace with the rapidly evolving technology: And raising the question whether laws need to be reframed mandating an opt-out approach universally rather than an opt-in approach.
- Clear laws on ownership of data: there must be clear laws on the ownership of data and what data need to be protected.
Personal Data cannot be the new oil
Individuals must own it, have a right to know what companies and governments know about them and, in most cases, that is, when there are no legitimate security or public interest reasons, have the right to have their data destroyed.
Conclusion
The CA issue is a wake-up call for India; the government is still dragging its feet on framing a comprehensive and robust data protection law.
