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News: Supreme Court declared the Right to Privacy as a fundamental right under Article 21. Considering this, Indian data protection law must be based on the principle that we own our personal data and only specified legal processes can deprive us of it.
What are the recommendations by Joint Parliamentary Committee?
| Read here: What are the key recommendations of the Joint Committee on the Personal Data Protection Bill? |
What advantages does Individual ownership of data offer?
India has 820 million active internet users. So, the enactment of Data protection law will provide the following advantages.
1) Private data collection entities will have to seek individuals’ consent, including the state. 2) Any misuse of data will be penalized as per law. 3) It would offer protection from data violations by the state.
How to ensure data protection from state encroachment?
Pegasus episode has exposed the tendency of some states to spy on their citizens. So, a strong and autonomous Data Protection Agency (DPA) is needed. Court warrants can be obtained for access to data. A proper trail of data access should be maintained for audit purposes.
Source: This post is based on the article “Privacy must be held as a fundamental right” published in the Livemint on 3rd December 2021.
