ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
DATA PRIVACY IN INDIA VS WORLD
Have you ever received a call from a bank that you have never visited, asking you if you need
any loan?. If yes, then this questions the data privacy and data security that is being provided
to you. Is there any law that punishes these people, who misuse the data they have? Before
digging deep into it, let’s get to know some basic terminologies.
So, What is Data Privacy?
Data Privacy is a branch of data security, that deals with the proper handling and use of data
that they are provided with. Data Privacy ensures that the shared data is only used for the
intended purpose and not for any other purpose.
Our data was most secure and private during the days when we used keypad phones. With
technology developing and the use of smartphones increasing day by day, we can very well
that our personal data is on a very serious security threat. With 743 million internet users,
India stands in the second position for largest online users. But, all the data produced by these
users are not protected effectively.
As per, statistics 128 out of 194 countries have separate legislation to ensure data privacy and
protection. The European Union has General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and this
GDPR is adopted by many other countries such as UK, Brazil, and Thailand. GDPR is
adopted because, it deals with data rights, data controller’s duty, punishments, penalties, and
remedies. The Chilean Government has made data privacy a human right. In China, severe
actions are taken and abrupt fines are charged when data privacy is violated. The US
government also has privacy rules modeled after GDPR.
Now, When we come to privacy laws in India, it is a big question mark. There is only one act
called the “Information Technology Act” when it comes to India. However, this act doesn’t
cover many aspects of data privacy. Another bill named the “Personal Data Protection
Bill” was put forth, But still, it hasn’t been passed as a law/act.
This clearly infers that India desperately needs strong data privacy and data protection law
Why is this Data Privacy Important:
If Data Privacy is violated and Data Protection is not provided, then it can lead to the
following consequences:
• There’s a possibility of our nation’s top secret to go into the hands of an enemy state.
• Possibility of identity theft.
• This can lead to financial and information loss to any organization.
• This can lead to frauds in the banking sector and your money can be stolen and so on.
What can we do from our side to ensure Data Privacy:
• Always use a firewall when using computers.
• Use strong passwords that would be difficult to decode.
• Always backup your data in an external hard drive.
• Install Anti-Virus and Anti-Malware software in your computer as well as mobile
phones.
• Always update your software and keep it up to date.
• Never connect your devices to any unknown and free wifi available in public places.
• Always read the privacy policies well before accepting them.
• Never share your passwords with anyone.
Data Privacy Day is celebrated on January 28th of every year. Let’s learn more about Data
Privacy and spread awareness about the same.