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Data protection bill - boon or bane?

{This Article aims to answer the question - do technological advancements act as a boon or bane in protecting data}

Author - Neeraj Dubey & Siddhant Garg

The emerging trends in digital economy which showcase the prospects of the underlying growth and progress of a nation where data is the essential oxygen required for the pumping of the economy which is the heart, at large. Looking into the insights and details, the figures are alarming and showcasing a need for the much needed move and anticipation of the reduction of poverty, unemployment, dispersal of services and services to the marginal and needy in the country, and the growth of opportunities that would lead all around development in the sectors of education, health, infrastructure, amongst a list of desired sectors requiring the involvement of host of governmental agencies, NGO’s, self help groups, and others.

At the helm of affairs, one of the prime concerns that has come to forefront is the essence of the privacy assurance as a fundamental right under article 21 as enshrined in the constitution of India. In regard to the issues raised, there was a report titled - ‘The Data Protection Bill, 2018’, submitted by Justice B.N Srikrishna to the Ministry of Information and Technology. As goes with all the reports, there are number of discussions that go into the preparation of the report, taking into account the essential pros and cons, and balancing out the benefits that could be reaped out to blossom subsequently.

{This Article aims to answer the question - do technological advancements act as a boon or bane in protecting data}

The major concerns before the team were that of data localization, security mechanism, data privacy, right to erasure, limitations on data collection and storage, amongst a host of others like the need and purpose of data accumulation, and its protection. It is essential that the privacy rights of the citizens are adequately protected and managed, and appropriate measures in this regard is the need of the hour. The excessive power in regard to the bill resides with the central government and it can thus guide and frame regulations which can be directed to the organisations, agencies, groups and individuals involved in the data management arena. This could be seen essentially in the limelight of the other relevant issues such as that in case of Justice Puttaswamy case and the Aadhar judgement that came around the introduction of the bill in 2018.

The concepts set out in the bill highlighted the data fiduciary, data principal and data processor as its major elements of discussion, which narrated the data management, amount of information that could be collected and processed, with identification and anonymisation as other elements in the bill.

The benefits arising out of the bill could be many such as addressing the need of protection of data of a billion of population where India stands second in the internet user base. There are agencies who are not essentially transparent and accountable for the utilization of the data that they collect from the individuals, and the data is rapidly flowing across the boundaries within and outside the country. There has not been any law. It was like a fundamental issue that came up before the citizens of the country. So in 2018, the country got a bill which was again out to scrutiny which was under challenges. There is an IT Act 2000, the legal ground for Information technology but does not substantiate the measures for the collection, management and processing of data by the agencies, companies and organisations.

{This Article aims to answer the question - do technological advancements act as a boon or bane in protecting data}

The positive aspects of the bill majorly point towards the protection of the right of privacy which is to ensure that the individuals are adequately protected under the ambit of law, therefore the bill in detail went to highlight the four major rights of the individuals such as Right to consent and access, Right to correction, Right to data portability and Right to be forgotten. The data can be processed only when the consent is attained from the individual.

Why does one think aadhar supporters were surprised at Google, Facebook, Visa collecting data and when one would agree to them, and then why would not one agree with UIDAI, and other agencies too? Coming in furtherance of the concern, it could be seen that number were being attached to biometrics. And one needs to know if biometrics will work or not because if there is problem with biometrics, the whole basis of the identity starts getting shaken.

Another issue is that now the problem with respect to that in relation to one’s security so far, one does give information in multiple places but they remain in silos, which means that it makes it that much difficult to converge information about an individual. And security for the person is that there is no one person or one entity or one authority which can just look at us, at each individual and at each communities, and make decisions about an individual without oneself participating in it. Now that’s unconstitutional.

But we do have constitution and then democracy. So since that’s the way it is supposed to be treated, this didn’t deem fit. Also, there was no control on the project where it was not just collection of data and other biometrics but also it’s sharing across government agencies as well as subsequently as the projects being extended to many agencies, companies, including schemes of social life that it be made mandatory infact infringed people’s right to life, liberty and other Fundamental Rights.

{This Article aims to answer the question - do technological advancements act as a boon or bane in protecting data}

In order to prevent the breakdown of the economy, social and public order, the nearness to the misuse challenges the purpose of the bill; data analysts in the corporate sectors and industries are concerned about the sensitive financial data. Cyber security and surveillance are another risks to be handled preventing from frauds and offences. Also, the breach of trust involved when the data is being used without the consent of the individuals.

Thus, it is crucial to maintain a balance between the growth of the economy and growth of an individual, encouraging growth and development in a fair manner. Wiping off the grey areas from the bill with consultations with the industry experts, setting up tribunals and authorizing the data interception keeping adequate checks and balances. The bill can be refined, polished and calibrated further to ensure a system of laws which would prove to be a boon to the citizens and nation, alike.

{This Article aims to answer the question - do technological advancements act as a boon or bane in protecting data}