Privacy no longer supreme
5 years, 4 months ago

Privacy no longer supreme

The Hindu  

Two years ago, this month, a nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court unanimously held that Indians have a constitutionally protected fundamental right to privacy. It legislated a transformative, rights-oriented data protection law that held all powerful entities that deal with citizens’ personal data, including the state, accountable. Data use vs. privacy The government has shunned a rights-oriented approach in the collection, storage and processing of personal data and has stuck to its ‘public good’ and ‘data is the new oil’ discourse. The Justice Srikrishna committee which has published the draft Personal Data Protection Bill uses a similar language of ‘free and fair digital economy’, with the digital economy being the ends and the notion of privacy merely being a shaper of the means – not only misrepresenting the purpose of the bill, but also its history and the mischief that it intended to tackle. A rights-oriented data protection legislation — which includes comprehensive surveillance reform prohibiting mass surveillance and institution of a judicial oversight mechanism for targeted surveillance — and which recognises the principle that the state ought to be a model data controller as it deals with its citizens’ personal information; is still possible, one hopes.

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History of this topic

Well-equipped data protection board a must to enforce digital privacy laws, say experts
Top News
2 days ago

Well-equipped data protection board a must to enforce digital privacy laws, say experts

Live Mint  

New Delhi: The draft rules for the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, published on Friday, have ignited discussions among legal and data privacy experts regarding the effective implementation of the law. “Provisions for criminal liability in cases of severe data breaches could go a long way in ensuring stricter compliance," said Nazneen Ichhaporia, partner at ANB Legal. On 3 January, …

How SC order on Santiago Martin redraws ED-CBI probe playbook
1 week, 6 days ago

How SC order on Santiago Martin redraws ED-CBI probe playbook

India Today  

In a landmark decision poised to redefine the boundaries of investigative authority and individual privacy in India, the Supreme Court has restrained the Enforcement Directorate from accessing and copying content from electronic devices seized during searches against Santiago Martin, widely known as the ‘lottery king’, his relatives and employees. However, the Supreme Court’s intervention has effectively barred the ED from …

The legal gaps in India’s unregulated AI surveillance
3 weeks, 2 days ago

The legal gaps in India’s unregulated AI surveillance

The Hindu  

In 2019, the Indian government made headlines by announcing its intention to create the world’s largest facial recognition system for policing. The use of AI for surveillance has global parallels, often resulting in “dragnet surveillance”, a term that refers to indiscriminate data collection beyond just suspects or criminals. This article explores the legal frameworks, gaps, and concerns surrounding AI surveillance …

Privacy as priority: India can’t afford any further delay in notifying data protection rules
3 weeks, 3 days ago

Privacy as priority: India can’t afford any further delay in notifying data protection rules

Live Mint  

A few days ago, Signzy, a popular Know Your Customer verification service used by India’s top banks and fintech firms, was affected by a cyber attack that may have exposed the sensitive personal information of millions. India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act was passed six years after the Right to Privacy verdict in 2017. The Digital India Act, touted as …

India to introduce new legal framework for data privacy, free data flow: Piyush Goyal
1 month, 2 weeks ago

India to introduce new legal framework for data privacy, free data flow: Piyush Goyal

Live Mint  

New Delhi, Novemeber 22 : Union Minister Piyush Goyal announced that India is set to bring in a new legal framework to ensure data privacy while promoting the free flow of data among trusted global partners. The minister stated this during his address at the UK India Business Council's 'UK-India Technology Futures Conference' held in New Delhi on Thursday. In …

Corporate boards should foster a culture of data privacy in organizations
10 months ago

Corporate boards should foster a culture of data privacy in organizations

Live Mint  

The digital age has ushered in a new era of responsibility—to safeguard the core of our online existence: our data. In acknowledging the role of data privacy being integral to corporate governance and risk management, the board has a crucial role in not only ensuring that the enterprise meets legal obligations, but also establishing a bedrock of trust under its …

When the stares align: Kashyap Kompella on why we care so little about data privacy
1 year, 1 month ago

When the stares align: Kashyap Kompella on why we care so little about data privacy

Hindustan Times  

The right to privacy is really the right to be left alone, and it includes digital privacy. Digital privacy is about having the ability to control one’s online information, including withholding all such information from others. For example, the European Union enacted a set of information privacy laws called the General Data Protection Regulation, but Big Tech firms have just …

E- International Seminar, Right To Privacy, Data Protection, Law Mantra Trust, MNLU Nagpur, NLSIU Bangalore
1 year, 3 months ago

E- International Seminar, Right To Privacy, Data Protection, Law Mantra Trust, MNLU Nagpur, NLSIU Bangalore

Live Law  

The Seminar aims to examine and analyze Right to Privacy & Data Protection in Digital Era in today’s times. The International Seminar will be attended by various international delegates and speakers as also representatives from the national Diaspora representing the stakeholders in the digital ecosystem and alive web. These would include representatives from the Central Government & State Governments, various …

Navigating the complex landscape of data privacy laws in India
1 year, 3 months ago

Navigating the complex landscape of data privacy laws in India

Hindustan Times  

In an era where data is hailed as the "new oil," the need for strong data privacy laws has never been more critical. India, too, has stepped up its game in this regard with the introduction of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. Compliance with data protection laws, such as the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 in India, …

Today’s Cache | India’s Personal Data Protection Act weakens RTI; Google hit with copyright lawsuit; Microsoft unbundles Teams to avert fines
1 year, 4 months ago

Today’s Cache | India’s Personal Data Protection Act weakens RTI; Google hit with copyright lawsuit; Microsoft unbundles Teams to avert fines

The Hindu  

India’s Personal Data Protection Act weakens RTI Activists have long warned of dilution of the Right to information and with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, of 2023, the qualified prohibitions to certain right to information to be kept secret have turned into total prohibitions. The lawsuit, alleging copyright violations, was filed by the Danish Media Association a year after …

Bihar caste survey | No Supreme Court stay on publication of data
1 year, 4 months ago

Bihar caste survey | No Supreme Court stay on publication of data

The Hindu  

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay the uploading of data collected in the recently concluded Bihar caste-based survey while debunking claims that the Nitish Kumar government has violated the fundamental right to privacy by compelling people to reveal their caste. Vaidyanathan, who appeared for the NGO, Youth for Equality, against the survey, said that people could not be …

Personal Data Protection: How India's Law Looks Compared to EU's Regulations
1 year, 4 months ago

Personal Data Protection: How India's Law Looks Compared to EU's Regulations

The Quint  

DPDPA seeks “to provide for the processing of digital personal data in a manner that recognises both the right of individuals to protect their personal data and the need to process such personal data for lawful purposes and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto,” as mentioned at the beginning of the legislation. In August 2017, when the nine-judge bench …

Word choice in India’s data protection law and a dilution of rights
1 year, 4 months ago

Word choice in India’s data protection law and a dilution of rights

The Hindu  

After years of going back and forth on its contents, India finally has a data protection law, i.e., the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. In the search for an answer to this question, we need to look at two basic features of any data protection law: the use of personal data with consent and without it. As decades of …

An Act to cement digital authoritarianism
1 year, 4 months ago

An Act to cement digital authoritarianism

The Hindu  

“You may say that you want to be forgotten but the state does not want to forget you.” This chilling argument for dominance over every Indian’s life was rejected six years ago, in August 2017, by the Supreme Court of India in the first Puttaswamy decision. The Court reaffirmed the fundamental right to privacy while requiring the Union Government to …

Paytm CEO says data protection bill ‘well articulated’, calls it ‘progress of our digital economy’
1 year, 4 months ago

Paytm CEO says data protection bill ‘well articulated’, calls it ‘progress of our digital economy’

Hindustan Times  

Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma on Friday took to X to praise the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, stating that it has been “well articulated” and that “it is progress for India's digital economy,” tagging Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar and the IT ministry. The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023, which curbs the misuse of personal information by …

Legal framework for privacy as RS clears digital data bill
1 year, 5 months ago

Legal framework for privacy as RS clears digital data bill

Hindustan Times  

The Rajya Sabha passed the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023 on Wednesday, clearing the way for what will be the first legal framework for privacy, close to six years after it was held as a fundamental right for Indians by the Supreme Court. While it is unlikely to take long for the bill to receive presidential assent — at …

Data market’s future hinges on regulation
1 year, 5 months ago

Data market’s future hinges on regulation

Hindustan Times  

In 1776, when Adam Smith — arguably the most ardent champion of market economics — argued in favour of the invisible hand, there was no telephone, no broadband and no digital data coursing through cables or air waves. Several economists, including Hal Varian, the chief economist of Google, are swayed by the efficiency hypothesis while others liken data to oil …

India passes data protection legislation in Parliament. Critics fear privacy violation
1 year, 5 months ago

India passes data protection legislation in Parliament. Critics fear privacy violation

Associated Press  

NEW DELHI — Indian lawmakers Wednesday approved a data protection legislation that “seeks to better regulate big tech firms and penalize companies for data breaches” as several groups expressed concern over citizens’ privacy rights. The legislation will limit cross-border transfer of data and provide a framework for setting up a data protection authority to ensure compliance from tech companies, Information …

India passes data protection bill amid surveillance concerns
1 year, 5 months ago

India passes data protection bill amid surveillance concerns

Al Jazeera  

The new law has drawn criticism from opposition lawmakers and rights groups over the scope of exemptions, weakening gov’t accountability. Indian lawmakers have passed a data protection law that will dictate how tech companies process users’ data amid criticism that it will likely lead to increased surveillance by the government. The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023 gives the government …

Indranil Banerjie | A Law to Protect Citizens, Or To Help in State Snooping?
1 year, 5 months ago

Indranil Banerjie | A Law to Protect Citizens, Or To Help in State Snooping?

Deccan Chronicle  

In today’s digital age, privacy is a chimera -- the reality is that every intimate detail of our lives, from our eating and spending patterns to medical and financial details, are digitally recorded in some computer somewhere in the vast cloud and can therefore be potentially exposed. The idea of a digital data protection law had become imperative given the …

The new data bill will mark a paradigm shift
1 year, 5 months ago

The new data bill will mark a paradigm shift

Hindustan Times  

The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha yesterday. This is why I have been opposed to the enactment of a compliance-heavy, General Data Protection Regulation style regulation in India, even though this is widely believed to be the gold standard for data protection. Most of the other data protection principles — retention restrictions, purpose specifications, …

Data Protection Bill 2023 tabled in Lok Sabha, here's what govt, Oppn are saying
1 year, 5 months ago

Data Protection Bill 2023 tabled in Lok Sabha, here's what govt, Oppn are saying

Hindustan Times  

The Data Protection Bill, 2023 was introduced in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, with several Opposition parliamentarians opposing the move and asking for it to be sent to a standing committee instead, before a voice vote allowed for the legislation to be taken up, with discussions likely over the next few working days. The data protection law started its life …

Manish Tewari | Build legal framework for intel to safeguard privacy
1 year, 5 months ago

Manish Tewari | Build legal framework for intel to safeguard privacy

Deccan Chronicle  

The perpetual clash between the idea of security and the idea of privacy is a battle that animates the soul of all democratic institutions. One of the biggest problems in India is that both law enforcement agencies and intelligence organisations have no sound legal basis. Thus, owing to its universal acceptability, and a belief carried out from a legal obligation …

India’s data protection law needs refinement
1 year, 5 months ago

India’s data protection law needs refinement

The Hindu  

India is no Europe, and this seems especially true in the face of a task such as drafting and conceptualising a data protection law for over 1.4 billion Indians. The European Union’s data protection law, i.e., the General Data Protection Regulation, came into force in the middle of 2018 and achieved widespread popularity as arguably the most comprehensive data privacy …

A Bill that fences in the right to information
1 year, 5 months ago

A Bill that fences in the right to information

The Hindu  

The news that the Union Cabinet has approved the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill and will table it in the monsoon session of Parliament raises certain issues. The proposed Digital Personal Data Protection Bill has two provisions which would greatly weaken the Indian citizen’s right to information. It has a proviso which is an acid test to help anyone claiming …

Data Protection Bill | Granting government exemption causes great concern, says Justice Srikrishna
1 year, 6 months ago

Data Protection Bill | Granting government exemption causes great concern, says Justice Srikrishna

The Hindu  

“The provisions granting exemption to the government and government bodies from all sections of the law in the draft Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023, cause “great concern,” says Justice B.N. The Union Cabinet on July 5 cleared the Bill that essentially allows laypersons to complain to the Data Protection Board of India, consisting of technical experts constituted by the …

New Data Protection Bill receives Cabinet's green light: Here's all you need to know
1 year, 6 months ago

New Data Protection Bill receives Cabinet's green light: Here's all you need to know

India TV News  

India's ongoing efforts to protect privacy and personal data have gained significance in light of the Supreme Court's recognition of privacy as a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution. The need for a robust data protection law became apparent following incidents of data breaches and unauthorized use of personal information by entities before stricter regulations were imposed globally. …

Cyberabad Top Cop Says Data Protection Bill Will Help With Cybercrime Crackdown
1 year, 6 months ago

Cyberabad Top Cop Says Data Protection Bill Will Help With Cybercrime Crackdown

Deccan Chronicle  

HYDERABAD: The Union Cabinet’s approval of the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022, on Wednesday was welcomed by various sections of society, who were jubilant that such a Bill, when made into law, would safeguard data privacy as a fundamental right, as declared by the Supreme Court. Also, this Bill can help organisations put data privacy and security first, and …

India’s shield of privacy should reflect Article 21
1 year, 6 months ago

India’s shield of privacy should reflect Article 21

Live Mint  

The monsoon session of Indian Parliament will likely take up a bill framed in response to the Supreme Court ruling of 24 August 2017 that said privacy is a fundamental right. The Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, a draft of which was published last year to replace an unwieldy earlier proposal, got Cabinet approval this week as part of the …

Fix govt accountability for personal data leaks
1 year, 6 months ago

Fix govt accountability for personal data leaks

Hindustan Times  

Privacy – that elusive fundamental right – is again under the spotlight with reports of a possible breach of CoWIN data of individuals. Two provisions under the Information Technology Act, 2000 – Section 43A and Section 72A – encompass personal data protection in India. Pursuant to the Puttaswamy judgment of 2017, the central government released multiple drafts of the proposed …

New Digital Personal Data Protection Bill in Monsoon Session
1 year, 8 months ago

New Digital Personal Data Protection Bill in Monsoon Session

The Hindu  

The Union government informed the Supreme Court on April 11, 2023 that a new law, namely the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill 2022, to enforce individual privacy in online space is “ready”. “The new Bill will be tabled in the Monsoon Session of the Parliament in July,” Attorney-General R. Venkataramani, appearing for the Union, informed a Constitution Bench led by …

Significant controls to govt. under data protection bill to hit investments in data centres: ITI
2 years ago

Significant controls to govt. under data protection bill to hit investments in data centres: ITI

The Hindu  

Significant controls and exemptions to the government under the proposed Digital Personal Data Protection bill 2022 are likely to make it harder for companies to invest in data centres and data processing activities in India, according to global technology industry body ITI. The Ministry of Electronics and IT has floated draft Digital Personal Data Protection Bill 2022 and has invited …

Political Line | Public Debate on Privacy
2 years ago

Political Line | Public Debate on Privacy

The Hindu  

India’s new draft Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022 is being debated intensely. Privacy activists and legal scholars are concerned that the draft is going in the wrong direction, with the government giving itself too much power to collect data, and snoop on people. The draft DPDP bill reiterates state authority and sovereignty over all questions related to data, including …

Why the new draft data bill must be reconsidered
2 years, 1 month ago

Why the new draft data bill must be reconsidered

Hindustan Times  

Earlier this month, the government released the Digital Data Protection Bill of 2022, and asked for public comments. The government said this iteration provides a progressive and adequate legal framework for data protection in India; and, in particular, having listened to industry critiques of the draft Personal Data Protection Bill of 2018, it has removed onerous provisions regarding the storage …

Govt Can’t Violate Privacy Of Citizens Under Data Protection Bill, Data Access In Exceptional Situations: MoS IT
2 years, 1 month ago

Govt Can’t Violate Privacy Of Citizens Under Data Protection Bill, Data Access In Exceptional Situations: MoS IT

ABP News  

New Delhi: Under the proposed data protection bill, the government will not be able to violate the privacy of the citizens as it will get access to personal data only in exceptional situations like national security, pandemic, and natural disasters, said Minister of State for Information Technology Rajeev Chandrashekhar, reported news agency PTI. While speaking in an online discussion, the …

New draft of Data Protection Bill is fundamentally flawed, says Justice B.N. Srikrishna
2 years, 1 month ago

New draft of Data Protection Bill is fundamentally flawed, says Justice B.N. Srikrishna

The Hindu  

In an interview to The Hindu, Justice B. N. Srikrishna of the Supreme Court, who had proposed the first draft of the Personal Data Protection Bill in 2018, says the Bill is fundamentally flawed as it would permit, and may encourage, the executive to act capriciously and infringe on the fundamental right of privacy of personal data. Excerpts: What do …

Sanjeev Ahluwalia | Personal data is only ‘half protected’ by new data bill
2 years, 1 month ago

Sanjeev Ahluwalia | Personal data is only ‘half protected’ by new data bill

Deccan Chronicle  

When is a bill only a “half bill”? The answer — when it just tables good intentions, like the draft Digital Personal Data Protection Bill which has been put in the public domain by the ministry of electronics and information technology. The bill includes a bland provision for transfer of personal data outside India to countries or territories notified by …

Digital Personal Data Protection Bill DPDP Draft revise changes tech firm state instrumentation input comment last date
2 years, 1 month ago

Digital Personal Data Protection Bill DPDP Draft revise changes tech firm state instrumentation input comment last date

ABP News  

The Centre on November 18 released a revised draft of the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 20022, with an increased focus on personal data as a fundamental right, as ruled by the Supreme Court. The Personal Data Protection Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha in December 2019. What the revised Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022, brings to the …

Persisting issues: The Hindu Editorial on the new data protection bill
2 years, 1 month ago

Persisting issues: The Hindu Editorial on the new data protection bill

The Hindu  

A new draft of the much-awaited data protection Bill, the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill 2022, is now open for public comments. The new draft, unlike the 2018 version, does not refer to key data protection principles such as collection limitation — obligations on the data fiduciaries to collect only such personal data that is required for the purpose of …

Open in Safe Mode: How New Data Protection Bill Looks at 'Safety, Trust, Accountability’
2 years, 1 month ago

Open in Safe Mode: How New Data Protection Bill Looks at 'Safety, Trust, Accountability’

News 18  

The government on November 18 released the draft of the Personal Data Protection Bill, aiming to provide a framework for a strict user-consent regime for data processing, as well as a penalty of up to Rs 500 crore for data breaches by social media and internet companies. However, the government released the ‘Explanatory Note on Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, …

Data protection bill may need multiple iterations before becoming practical: experts
2 years, 1 month ago

Data protection bill may need multiple iterations before becoming practical: experts

The Hindu  

The draft Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2022, released on Friday, is a mix of hits and misses, with more misses than hits, and would need multiple iterations before becoming practical, according to experts. They have no right to data portability.” “The Data Protection Board is toothless as most power is given to the Executive to prescribe through Rules,” she …

Ensure equal Net privacy for Indians and others: Centre
2 years, 3 months ago

Ensure equal Net privacy for Indians and others: Centre

The Hindu  

The government on Thursday stated in the Supreme Court that it expects social media companies, however “big” they were, to treat Indian users’ privacy on a par with foreign customers. Howsoever big the MNC be, if you are operating in India, you have to comply with the laws of India and have to treat Indian citizens with an equal degree …

‘Puttaswamy’ and the fading promise of a right
2 years, 4 months ago

‘Puttaswamy’ and the fading promise of a right

The Hindu  

August 24 has passed, marking five years since a nine-judge Bench of the Supreme Court of India delivered a crucial judgment in the case of Justice K.S. The judgment delivered on that date formally recognised the right to privacy as being a fundamental right stemming from the right to life and personal liberty, guaranteed under Article 21 of the Indian …

Puttaswamy, five years on
2 years, 4 months ago

Puttaswamy, five years on

Hindustan Times  

Five years ago, on this day, the Supreme Court made one its most important judgments. A nine-judge Constitutional bench ruled that the fundamental right protections under the Constitution’s Part III extend to an individual’s privacy. By recognising privacy as an independently enforceable right, the court bolstered freedom of expression and specified that citizens have the right against arbitrary, unregulated State …

What next on data protection?
2 years, 4 months ago

What next on data protection?

The Hindu  

The withdrawal of the Personal Data Protection Bill from Parliament came as a surprise, particularly after so much effort was put into it over the last five years. The JPC recommended moving away from a personal data protection law towards a law to govern the entire data ecosystem. In the short term, however, the government would do well to put …

As IRCTC Mulls Data Monetisation, There Is an Urgent Need for Data Privacy Rules
2 years, 4 months ago

As IRCTC Mulls Data Monetisation, There Is an Urgent Need for Data Privacy Rules

The Quint  

Both these moves have sparked a new line of debate about the data privacy issues. The recent withdrawal of the Personal Data Protection Bill by the government, citing more comprehensive legislation, has also triggered concerns as data privacy remains guided by the provisions of the Information Technology Amendment Act 2008 and the related rules of 2011, and are found to …

India needs a data regulator
2 years, 4 months ago

India needs a data regulator

Hindustan Times  

The government is considering doing away with the need for a data protection authority in the new draft of the data protection law, this newspaper reported on Friday. But they cited the ease of doing business, especially for small- and medium-sized enterprises for whom a regulator such as DPA, especially in how its role was envisioned in the last personal …

Handle personal data with care
2 years, 4 months ago

Handle personal data with care

Hindustan Times  

The government on Monday notified the Passenger Name Record Information Regulations, 2022, making it mandatory for any operating flight to share details of international travellers with a customs agency. As safeguards, the notification says such data will be subject to privacy laws in force, avoid certain types of information and be processed only within a secure system. While little is …

Why does India not have a data protection bill yet?
2 years, 5 months ago

Why does India not have a data protection bill yet?

Business Standard  

According to Dutch cybersecurity firm Surfshark VPN, India had the second highest number of data breaches in the first half of 2022. And on Friday, a Ukrainian cybersecurity researcher claimed that sensitive personal data of 280 million Indian citizens allegedly from the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation database surfaced online. After five years in the making, the bill that was designed …

Data bill: A right call by the govt
2 years, 5 months ago

Data bill: A right call by the govt

Hindustan Times  

The government this week withdrew from Parliament the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019, informing Lok Sabha members that a new “comprehensive framework” would be brought in instead. In the case of the most recent work on the law, these discussions yielded suggestions that were far removed from what the Srikrishna version and even the government’s approach envisioned. Nations that updated …

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