Data Protection Framework for India

Abstract

Technology has rapidly altered the course of lives of the common people and has made life fundamentally connected. People are using the digitally connected world for a plethora of activities starting from Personal Communications to Business Transactions. Activities over the internet invariably involve exchange/sharing of Data/Information. The information exchanged can provide powerful insight into the user’s individual, social, political, economic interest and preferences (Nawrot et al., 2010). This information exchange resulting in collection of Data from Data Subjects is happening in a continuous manner across digital infrastructure and by almost all stake holders. This poses serious issues related to data protection and privacy of the users. Countries across the world have awakened to the need for protecting privacy and data of its citizens. India, an emerging economy, house to a sixth of global population and an aspiring Regional Power has also made numerous piecemeal efforts, mostly reactive, to address the issues of Digital Privacy and Data Protection. In this paper, the authors analyse the global practices on Data Protection with an aim to identify key ingredients which must essentially be incorporated in the Data Protection Framework formulated by India.

Keywords: Data Protection, Digital Privacy, India, GDPR

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