Welfare benefits

W H Y IN N EW S ? through IT platforms
Why right to privacy
is needed in India ?
Using computerized data
Recently, in Justice K. S. Puttaswamy vs collected from citizens
Union of India, the Supreme Court (SC)
ruled right to privacy to be an intrinsic Increasing Rapid digitization
internet users in India
part of life and liberty under Art. 21
Around 400 million May result into
Indians are using problems of ID theft,
internet fraud, misrepresentation

BACK GROU ND Huge personal

data collection

By MNCs without
including protection
procedures

A Committee was set

up under Justice A P
Shah to study the
proposed draft Bill
on Privacy 2011
Inspite of several bills In M.P. Sharma (1954) and
being tabled in the Kharak Singh (1961) cases,
Parliament, for eg. draft SC held that privacy Maneka Gandhi (1978) case
Bill on Privacy 2011, is not protected under held that any law interfering
privacy is still not the Constitution with personal liberty must
provided in any law be just and not arbitrary
The IT Act, 2003 was
silent on privacy laws

Recommendations of
After Independence, AP Shah Panel

KEY FEATURES
Constituent Assembly
decided not to put right
to privacy in the New and comprehensive law to protect privacy
in the private and public spheres

OF JUDGEMENT
constitution
Privacy commissioners at the Centre
and in states
Self-Regulating Organisations by the industry
which would develop a baseline legal framework
enforcing right to privacy
Expands individual’s Independent external Data (Privacy and
fundamental rights monitoring Protection) Bill, 2017 Nine principles of privacy to be followed
was tabled in the by data controllers - Notice, Choice & consent,
Lok Sabha Collection limitation, Purpose limitation, Access
By including in Article 21 Citizens can now directly and correction, Disclosure of information,
freedom from intrusion into approach SC or HC under Security, Openness, Accountability
one’s home, the right to choice Article 32 and 226
of food etc. Exceptions national security, public
order and public interest, tackling criminal
offences, protecting rights of freedom of others
Shows capacity Ensures
of judiciary to dignity
self-correct

The judgement overrules Now right to privacy cannot As citizens cannot

its previous stand be abrogated except by a exercise liberty and
constitutional amendment dignity without privacy

Increase International Preventing digital

CONCERNS ARISING
FROM JUDGEMENT
responsibility of
01
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0001

significance colonisation
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state to protect data

Which are collected As privacy is a part of Ensures checks on

from individuals for national ICCPR, which India has accessibility of data
programmes, any breach in also signed and ratified by MNCs like Facebook
personal data collected from and Google
national programmes would
have to be compensated

Heart of the matter Bearing on RTI - Disclosure Misuse by accused in

of information should not investigations – on using
encroach upon someone’s personal information by law
Salient points: personal matters enforcement agencies

Privacy is a constitutionally protected right emerging

primarily from the guarantee of life and liberty in
Article 21 of the Conctitution Data (Privacy and
Protection) Bill, 2017
It includes the preservation of personal intimacies,
sanctity of family life, marriage, procreation, the Undermines Separation
home and sexual orientation of Power– Parliament, not Rights-based approach where consent
court, has the authority to of individual is mandatory for collection,
amend fundamental rights processing, storing and deletion of personal
Privacy cannotes a right to be left alone. It data with very limited exceptions
safeguards individual autonomy and recognises
one's ability to control vital aspects of his/her life Differentiate data collectors & data processors
and mandates them to collect, store or access
personal data in a lawful & transparent manner
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01101

Informational privacy is a facet of this right,
dangers to this can originate from both state
and non-state actors
Bearing on government’s
Privacy is not an absolute right, but any invasion welfare schemes & other
must be based on legality, need & proportionality cases – such as Aadhar,
Section 377, WhatsApp
privacy policy, restriction
Government must put in place a robust regime on eating practices etc.
for data protection. It must bring about a
balance between individual intersts and
legitimate state concerns
Contours of privacy cannot be defined- as it
pervades all other fundamental rights and
includes surveillance, search and seizure,
abortion, transgender rights etc.
& implement security measures for the same
Data intermediaries must inform individuals
of data breach within a time frame
Data protection officer for grievance redressal,
and users can appeal to Data Privacy and
Protection Authority
However, bill skips the issue of data sovereignty.
Unless explicitly specified, Indian IT laws are not
applicable to data stored outside India and data
intermediaries can claim immunity by exploiting
this loophole

WAY FORWARD Related

International laws
India is still lagging behind in data protection
law. In this direction, India should resolve the
Convention for the Protection
0 11 following concerns
of Individuals with regard to
1 0 0 Automatic Processing of Personal

0 0 0
Data (Convention 108), signed
by European Council in 1981,
Encouraging use 0 0 0 is the first legally binding
of privacy enhancing
0 1
Balance individual’s
1 Horizontal application international treaty on privacy

right with 0
technologies (PET) Developing a national of privacy
privacy 0 Increasing privacy European Union is planning to
It puts the end user 1benefits of data mining 0
data protection Where this right is enforce its General Data Protection
in control over what 0 consciousness
framework available against private
information they share
0 and big data
1 down 1 is required due
To define the contours players also so as to
Regulation (GDPR) by May 2018
to rapid changes
and with whom 0 Byaclearly laying
0
legal framework 0 in technology of personal privacy in protect the interests of
Article 12 of the Universal
a broader context
1 0 0 beyond just data
weaker sections as well
Declaration of Human Rights, 1948
0 1 1 and Article 17 of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political
0 1 1 Rights (ICCPR), 1966, legally
1 1 1 protect persons against “arbitrary

1 0 0 interference” with one’s privacy,

family, home, correspondence,
0 0 honour and reputation
1 0
0 0
1
1
0
1
1
0
1
0
1 1
1
1