Everything is digital, people are moving towards digital platforms for study, daily payments, shopping, medicine, health care, and almost every work. People demand privacy. To have data privacy is the key concern of the digital era. Trust and ensuring security in digital platforms will come with data privacy. One initiative towards data privacy is implementing a bill like the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill that will check the misuse of data. Implementation of cybersecurity measures will ensure data privacy.
The Rise of Data Privacy Concerns in India
The usage of the internet has increased exponentially in the past few years. Handling the data of millions of people on servers is a challenge for the digital team. As per the reports from the TRAI, India has more than 800 million people on digital platforms and this number will grow with this increase rate. Providing better connectivity, access to service, data privacy, and data security are the key benefits and concerns of the digital team.
The applications that we use daily or frequently have our data, companies need to collect and store this data safely. Some are the govt agencies that manage the user data and some are private. Examples of data are financial data like digital payments, personal data, and user location, all this information is crucial for a person and nobody wants to leak these details to the public. The digital team works towards unauthorized access to financial frauds, identity theft, and digital frauds.
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Challenges Facing Data Privacy in India
India has taken several steps toward the privacy of the data of its users. Still, some changes need a lookout.
Lack of Comprehensive Data Protection Law:
Currently, India has the IT Act 2000 and in the IT Act, there are no such legal provisions for data hackers. Time has changed since the act was implemented. The govt should think about making some changes to the IT Act 2000 to secure the privacy of users.
Data Localization and Cross-Border Data Flow:
The recent concern of India is towards the data localization that the data of the users should be stored within India. This will restrict the flow of Indian data across the border and increase privacy.
Rise of Digital Services and Surveillance:
The digital world is in the revolutionary stage now. As the number of digital applications is increasing, the data collection practices are increased and the companies usually store user data without their permission. There are suggestions to implement more security in the Aadhaar database as the Aadhaar database has private information of whole Indian people.
Low Public Awareness:
The people in India are less aware of their rights to data privacy. The government should conduct seminars and workshops to aware people of how companies use their data and store them without their permission. How you can protect yourself.
Legislative Efforts: The Data Protection Bill
In India, the govt has introduced the Personal Data Protection Bill in 2019. The inspiration is the GDPR Bill of the European Union- General Data Protection Regulation. The key points of Personal Data Protection of India are given below.
- Consent-Based Data Processing: Companies have to ask users about their content before storing their personal information.
- Data Principal Rights: The people have rights over their data they can edit their data, compete erase their data, and can access the data at any time.
- Data Protection Authority (DPA): There should be an authority that will guide the people towards the data processing activities and ensure to implementation of all the rules of the Act.
- Data Localization: The companies should keep some sensitive and personal data within the boundary of India. Some data should not cross the boundary of the nation.
The Personal Data Protection Bill has undergone several revisions in 2022 and 2023 and still, the govt is improving it.
The Right to Privacy is a Fundamental Right
Supreme Court has given a judgment in 2017 ensuring that the right to privacy is the fundamental right of the people of the nation. This judgment from the Supreme Court laid the foundation of the Personal Data Protection Bill in 2019. The goal of the Supreme Court is to guide the govt in the privacy of the people should be protected from any authorized access. The whole Personal Data Protection Bill follows the guidelines of the Supreme Court.
Data Privacy in the Digital Economy
It is expected that the digital economy of India will become $1 trillion in 2025 as the growth of e-commerce and other digital services is massive. By keeping in mind all the growth of the digital industry, the privacy of the people is a big change for the companies and the people will trust only with the implementation of privacy and security. The companies that are associated with the financial data are the main target of the hackers. There is a need for robust data protection measures in India.
The Path Forward: Building a Secure Digital Ecosystem
Now what we can do for the protection of data, and the path forward to building a secure digital ecosystem is given below. These are a few steps toward the privacy of data.
Enacting Robust Data Protection Legislation:
The laws in India should be robust and the people who play with the private information of the users must know what are the impact of misusing the data of the innocent public. The law should be enforced properly.
Promoting Data Privacy Awareness:
The people of India are not aware of their fundamental rights related to the digital world. As the use the digital services is increasing, the govt should conduct seminars for the general awareness of the public towards data protection.
Strengthening Cybersecurity Measures:
The govt must implement cybersecurity protocols to improve privacy and security in the digital world. There should be measures where the companies have to use security protocols for the safety of user data.
Encouraging Accountability and Transparency:
The companies that are associated with the people should show responsibility for the data of the public and the process of strong user data should be transparent.
International Collaboration:
Right now, the use of the internet is not limited to one nation, security protocols for data privacy must be handled in a collective effort from all of the countries.