As the country embraces new laws to protect internet privacy, social media giants like Twitter may have to change the way they collect and share user data.
World’s largest democracy and the country with 13.5 percent of global internet users is all in to take control of its internet users, Slate reported. With Supreme Court’s ruling in August that privacy is a constitutional right for all in India, it secured its 1.32 billion citizens. However, regarding the implementation of the decision, it is still not clear how exactly the administration is going to apply the decision.
“The most immediate consequence of the ruling is that tech companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Google, and Alibaba will be required to rein in their collection, utilization, and sharing of Indian user data,” the article said. “But the changes could go well beyond technology. If implemented properly, the decision could affect national politics, business, free speech, and society.”
The country had weak privacy laws before the ruling and several private companies and the government collected data on citizens without any checks. The introduction of Aadhaar cards, which included biometric data of citizens, in 2016 was the first step to create a pool of data on citizens. The immediate purpose was to make it easy for citizens to receive social benefits and end fake identities to eliminate fraud. However, citizens were not comfortable sharing their personal data that too prompted the government to bolster its laws on data protection and privacy.
To ensure more protection and implementation of the ruling, the government will introduce data protection laws. It has formed a committee, which is led by Supreme Court judge B. N. Srikrishna, to study “data protection landscape, develop a draft Data Protection Bill, and identify how, and whether, the Aadhaar Act should be amended based on the privacy ruling” the report added.
The report concluded that any major changes in the world’s largest democracy will have repercussions globally.