{"id":256461,"date":"2023-08-17T20:57:57","date_gmt":"2023-08-17T15:27:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=256461"},"modified":"2023-08-29T12:59:01","modified_gmt":"2023-08-29T07:29:01","slug":"an-act-to-cement-digital-authoritarianism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/an-act-to-cement-digital-authoritarianism\/","title":{"rendered":"An Act to cement digital authoritarianism"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source:<\/strong> The post is based on the article \u201cAn Act to cement digital authoritarianism\u201d published in \u201cThe Hindu\u201d on 17th August 2023.<\/p>\n

Syllabus:<\/strong> GS 2 – Indian Polity \u2013 Government Policies for various sectors<\/p>\n

Relevance:<\/strong> Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.<\/p>\n

News:<\/strong> The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, also known as the Data Act, was enacted recently.<\/p>\n

Why are critics concerned about the law?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Critics are concerned that this law undermines transparency and accountability<\/strong> instead of protecting citizens’ data.<\/p>\n

They say that the law seems to facilitate data collection<\/strong> by the government and private entities rather than safeguarding personal information.<\/p>\n

They argue that the law was shaped by the government’s desire for more control<\/strong>, influenced by the belief that technology can solve all problems<\/strong>. But this ideology gives rise to increased surveillance and control.<\/p>\n

The state views data protection as being a nuisance to its digital programmes which is inherent in their architectural design.<\/p>\n

Examples like the Aarogya Setu app and the Smart Cities Mission<\/strong> show how data privacy is overlooked in favor of technological expansion.<\/p>\n

There are also more direct measures for surveillance, such as the plan for a “social media communications hub” and a facial recognition system. <\/strong>These projects can be given legal sanctity through exceptions in the Data Act.<\/p>\n

Rather than protecting the ordinary citizen, the Act imposes fines on marginalized groups<\/strong> that might provide incomplete or incorrect information for their personal safety.<\/p>\n

Will the Act improve over time?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

It has been argued that with experience, the Data Act will improve over time. But this argument ignores the decline in democratic qualities in a digital India<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Recent laws in India have led to the creation of databases that have authoritarian undertones<\/strong>, storing personal and family information of citizens.<\/p>\n

The Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022, and the Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Act, 2023<\/strong>, both contribute to these databases.<\/p>\n

All these legislative actions seem to align with a broader pattern<\/strong> that culminates in the Data Act, suggesting a move towards greater state control over citizens’ data and lives<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Is the Data Act a \u201clight touch regulation\u201d?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Labeling the Data Act as “light touch regulation” would be inaccurate because it provides for vast and vague ministerial discretion.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Union Government holds the power to exempt specific companies or even entire classes of companies from adhering to regulations.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the government can initiate complaints against these companies on its own to the Data Protection Board of India, a body it both forms and oversees.<\/p>\n

What will be the impact of the Data Act on the private sector?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The inspiration for the Data Act seems to be the National Intelligence Law of China<\/strong>, where the government can now demand any \u201csuch information as it may call for\u201d.<\/p>\n

This could lead to a scenario where private companies consistently seek favor from government officials<\/strong> for ambiguous compliance requirements.<\/p>\n

This system may allow the government to decide winners and losers<\/strong> in India’s digital market. This aligns with a trend of centralized state control.<\/p>\n

These developments coincide with a decline in global rankings for economic freedom<\/strong> according to organizations like the Cato Institute’s Human Freedom Index, the Heritage Foundation, and the Hudson Institute.<\/p>\n

What should be the way forward?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The concerns raised echo a warning from the Supreme Court about the need for a strong data protection framework to ensure citizens’ liberty and dignity.<\/p>\n

India needs a more comprehensive solution to this digital authoritarianism, as the Data Act is just a symptom of a bigger problem.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source: The post is based on the article \u201cAn Act to cement digital authoritarianism\u201d published in \u201cThe Hindu\u201d on 17th August 2023. Syllabus: GS 2 – Indian Polity \u2013 Government Policies for various sectors Relevance: Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. News: The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, also known as the Data Act, was… Continue reading An Act to cement digital authoritarianism<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10320,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230,9],"tags":[212,225],"class_list":["post-256461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","category-public","tag-gs-paper-2","tag-polity","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":{"total":12,"cached_at":"","cached_date":1700117818},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10320"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=256461"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/256461\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=256461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=256461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=256461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}