Privacy protection in the overflow of digital content
Author: Krishna Shroff, a student at GLS University
With the rapidly growing period of digitalism, protection of one’s personal information gets violated. New technology makes its mark everyday into our lives making it difficult to sustain without it. A dead phone leads to a complete cutoff of communication with your loved bones. In the period of digital content and constant changing technology the definition of privacy is blurred. The reason I chose to write this composition was because the technology is growing at a fast paced but people are ignorant of its harm and how to protect them from it. The digital world is based on excessive data pooling, storing the information and selling the same. Right to privacy is violated and it happens everyday without you and I knowing, this creates a situation of severe pressure and a need to take necessary steps in the protection of the rights. In the last couple of years the government and big companies have become digital data miners keeping a track on each individual. People think they’re in control of the information they put into the world but technology is a web which keeps pulling you in to a point where you’re solely dependent on it. In earlier times, people used to keep important files and documents in the lockers that were secured with lock and key, in this digital generation as further and further personal information gets out, digital protection laws are the lock and key. They are the sole backbone which a inidiviual can rely on.
All the data of people are sold in exchange of hefty amount by big companies hence data protection is the need of the hour. Data privacy and data protection are two different terms, data privacy means how much of the individuals information can be put out on the digital platform, he/she has the full control what should be shown and what should be kept hidden. If the individuals information gets out without their consent it will be a breach in their privacy.
Whereas data protection is legal control when there is a breach in the individual’s privacy. If data privacy is violated then data protection comes for the rescue. Digital privacy is important for the protection of rights and freedom of the individuals. People should freely put out the content they like without it causing them any harm. Digital platforms should have strict privacy and protection policies to safeguard the users interest and and protect them from any digital harm.
We live in the times when content creation has become a fully fledged job which makes it more difficult to keep the information private. In generation where every little movement is posted on digital platforms the term privacy takes a back seat. All of us are utterly wired in the technology world, so much as to we don’t even realize how much it affects our everyday life, For E.g. a person visits a shopping app to browse some shoes, after 5 minutes when he visits any social media app he’ll find other recommendations of shoes based on his former hunt on the shopping app. All the data is transferred in minutes and apps now being interlinked, it keeps a track of all the details on all the apps.
There are many articles and sections in the Indian laws that protect the individuals privacy if it is violated. Article 21 is one such major article which states that “No person shall be deprived of his life or particular liberty except according to a procedure established by law.” therefore, Article 21 secures two rights 1) Right to life, and 2) Right to particular liberty.
Right to privacy is honored as an important right of an individual under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. Breach of data results into violation of right to privacy. Earlier right to privacy wasn’t considered under Article 21 but after the landmark judgment of Justice K.S. Puttaswamy ( Retd.) v. Union of India, Right to privacy got included in composition 21. The nine Judge Bench in this case unanimously reaffirmed the right to privacy as a right under the Constitution of India. The Court held that the right to privacy was integral to freedoms guaranteed across rights, and was a natural aspect of quality, autonomy and liberty.
Laws related to right to privacy and data protection:
The Constitution of India
The Constitution of India doesn’t explicitly mention the right to privacy or data protection. Still, the Supreme Court of India has honored the right to privacy as an fundamental right under Article 21(1) of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to life and particular liberty.
Right to Information Act, 2005
The Right to Information Act, 2005(RTI Act) provides for the right to piece information held by public authorities. Still, the RTI Act exempts certain types of information from exposure, similar as particular information that would foray the privacy of an existent.
Aadhaar Act, 2016
The Aadhaar Act provides a unique identification number, as a means of relating individualities for the delivery of colorful subventions, benefits, and services by the government. The Act contains provisions for the protection of particular information collected for the purposes of Aadhaar, and it establishes the Unique Identification Authority of India( UIDAI) to oversee the implementation of the Act.
The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019
The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 is a comprehensive legislation that seeks to give a legal frame for the protection of particular data in India. The bill is presently under consideration by the Parliament, and it’s anticipated to be passed into law in the near future. The bill contains vittles for the protection of particular data, including the right to access and correct particular data, the right to data portability, and the right to be forgotten. The bill also establishes the Data Protection Authority of India( DPA) to oversee the perpetration of the law and to insure the protection of particular data in India.
Information Technology Act, 2008
The IT Act, 2000 as amended by the IT Amendment Act, 2008 fitting Section 43A which authorizations the companies to cover particular data and sensitive information of people that they held, dealt or handled in a computer resource by enforcing reasonable security practices. similar companies are also liable for penalty in case of non-compliance. The Information Technology( Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules 2011, provides guidelines for the companies to retain privacy policy and to gain concurrence from the data possessors while collecting or transferring similar data.
Srikrishna Committee and the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018
The government appointed the Justice B.N. Srikrishna Committee to draft a data protection frame for India. The commission submitted its report along with the draft Personal Data Protection Bill in 2018. The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018, aimed to give a comprehensive legal frame for the protection of particular data and included principles inspired by transnational norms.
In early August 2023, the Indian Parliament passed the Digital Personal Data Protection( DPDP) 2023. Digital Personal Data Protection is “ An act to give for the processing of digital particular data in a manner that recognises both the right of individualities to cover their particular data and the need to reuse similar particular data for legal purposes and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. ” This act for the first time creates a data privacy law in India. Significant advancements in the digital sector involve the monetization of individualities’ data, accompanied by the duty of constraints on major commercial realities engaged in data mining conditioning. It requires concurrence to be taken before particular data is reused and provides a limited number of exceptions that are easily enumerated in the law. It provides consumers the right to access, correct, update, and abolish their data, in addition to a right to nomination. It creates fresh safeguards for the processing of children’s data. For businesses, it creates purpose limitations and scores to give notice of data collection and processing and authorizations security safeguards.
DPDP has 9 chapters laying out the requirements and laws regarding the data privacy and protection.
Chapter 1: Preliminary (Sections 1-3)
Chapter 2: Obligations of Data Fiduciary (Sections 4-10)
Chapter 3: Rights and Duties of Data Principal (Sections 11-15)
Chapter 4: Special Provisions (Sections 16-17)
Chapter 5: Data Protection Board of India (Sections 18-26)
Chapter 6: Powers, Functions and Procedures to be Followed by Board (Sections 27-28)
Chapter 7: Appeal and Alternate Dispute Resolution (Sections 29-32)
Chapter 8: Penalties and Adjudication (Sections 33-34)
Chapter 9: Miscellaneous (Sections 35-44)
DPDP is the first statutory body made for the protection of data and privacy in the digital period. It’s an amalgamation of 5 years of debate and discussion but is a first step towards data protection regulation. It still has a larger compass for perfecting and being a broader spectrum to include farther laws that can cover an existent’s information.
Conclusion
Digital period is fleetly growing and evolving, individuals should be aware why their data is being collected and how it’ll be used. Data protection is a complex and sensitive issue. To form laws for it’s an elaborative procedure and should be done considering all the aspects in mind. As we grapple with the overflow of digital content, the imperative to guard digital privacy has no way been more vital. The exponential growth of online exertion, social media relations, and the collection of particular data demands a multifaceted approach to insure the protection of individual privacy rights. Technology evolves, so should our strategies for guarding digital privacy. The ongoing dialogue girding data protection emphasizes the need for individualities, businesses, and policymakers to stay watchful and acclimatize to the ever- changing terrain. By fostering a culture of responsible data running, incorporating privacy into the design of digital systems, and promoting mindfulness, we can navigate the overflow of digital content while upholding the right to privacy in substance, the future of digital protection hinges on a delicate balance between invention and protection. As we continue to harness the benefits of the digital revolution, it’s a responsibility upon us to strength our defenses against implicit pitfalls, icing that the vast ocean of digital content remains a space where individualities can navigate with confidence, knowing their protection is shielded.
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