Privacy and data protection laws in India

摘要

Article 21 of the Indian Constitution states: "no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law". The objective of this fundamental right is to prevent encroachment upon personal liberty and deprivation of life except according to procedure established by law. Although 'protection of right to privacy, property and data' is not specified in the article, the Supreme Court of India interprets and includes it under 'personal liberty'. The IT Act of 2000 was introduced to enact growth of electronic based transactions, to provide legal recognition for e-commerce and e-transactions, to facilitate e-governance, to prevent computer based crimes and ensure security practices and procedures in the use of information technology globally. Yet, India has become technologically neutral due to adoption of electronic signatures as a legally valid mode of executing signatures. The article discusses the increased significance of electronic and digital media, including requirements on copyright owners to pay greater attention to electronic and digital rights issues. In comparison to laws of developed nations, since India's laws require that data be defined based on utility and importance, the article recommends changes to rules related to data extraction, protection and destruction, as well as business safeguard policies and maintenance of compliance obligations.