Towards a Privacy Framework for India in the Age of the Internet

Working Paper No. 179, NIPFP Working Paper Series

58 Pages Posted: 3 Jan 2017

See all articles by Vrinda Bhandari

Vrinda Bhandari

Independent

Renuka Sane

Trustbridge Rule of Law Foundation; National Institute of Public Finance and Policy

Date Written: November 2016

Abstract

Over the last decade, there have been vast improvements in surveillance technology and the availability, storage, and mining of personal information online, supported by developments in big data analytics. This has created a public policy conundrum over balancing the benefits of big data with the threat to the right to privacy. In an environment of pervasive surveillance and intrusive technology, there is a need for improved protection of privacy rights through a mixture of legislation and regulation, and building public awareness and demand for safeguards. This paper makes a case for the need for privacy from both the State and the private sector; examines the jurisprudential development of the right to privacy in India, and lays down privacy principles, that will underlie any proposed privacy law. It then evaluates the Indian IT Act, and the recently legislated Aadhaar Act, against the proposed privacy principles.

Keywords: Privacy, big data, India, Aadhaar, UID, Information Technology Act, digital

JEL Classification: H10, L86, K10

Suggested Citation

Bhandari, Vrinda and Sane, Renuka, Towards a Privacy Framework for India in the Age of the Internet (November 2016). Working Paper No. 179, NIPFP Working Paper Series, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2892368 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2892368

Renuka Sane

Trustbridge Rule of Law Foundation ( email )

New Delhi
India

National Institute of Public Finance and Policy ( email )

18/2, Satsang Vihar Marg
New Delhi, 110067
India

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