Position of Anti-Privacy Law in India

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Position of Anti-Privacy Law in India

Written By:– Aayushi Singh

Meaning of Privacy Privacy means is the right to be let alone, or freedom from interference or intrusion.

There are some different dimensions of privacy:

  1. Information Privacy
  2. Social Privacy
  3. Psychological
  4. Physical Privacy

Information Privacy:

Information Privacy is the right to have some control over how your personal information is collected and used.

Personal Privacy:

Personal Privacy is the ability of an individual or group protect their seclude, or information about themselves selectively. Any infringement in personal privacy subsequently stolen or misused can lead to identity theft. Privacy is the state of being free from public scrutiny or from having your personal information shared.

There are some types of harming activities: Information collection, information processing, information dissemination and invasion.

According to Ruth Gavison there are three elements in privacy: Secrecy, anonymity, and solitude.

The concept of Privacy regulation around the world. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks. The European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) also recognizes privacy as a right to which every person is entitled.

Introduction:

Privacy laws in India:

The Constitution of India does not patently grant the fundamental right to privacy. India presently does not have any express legislation governing data protection or privacy. The relevant laws in India dealing with data protection are the Formation Technology Act,2000 and the Indian Contract Act 1872.

Data Protection:

Data protection refers to the set of privacy laws, policies and procedures that aim to minimise intrusion into one’s privacy caused by the collection, storage and dissemination of personal data. Personal data generally refers to the information or data which relate to a person who can be identified from that information or data whether collected by any government or any private organization or an agency.

Privacy Law:

Privacy law refers to the laws that deal with the regulation, storing, and using of personally identifiable information, personal healthcare information, and financial information of individuals, which can be collected by governments, public or private organizations, or other individuals. It also applies in the commercial sector to things like trade secrets and the liability that directors, officers, and employees have when handling sensitive information.

Privacy laws are considered within the context of an individual’s privacy rights or within the reasonable expectations of privacy. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights that everyone has the right to privacy the interpretation of these rights varies by country and are not always harmonious.

There is some classification of Privacy law:

General privacy laws have an overall bearing on the personal information of individuals and affect the policies that govern many different areas of information.

  1. Trespass
  2. Negligence
  3. Fiduciary

Information Privacy, data privacy or data protection law provide a legal framework on how to obtain, use and store data of the natural person, the various laws around the world describe the rights of natural persons to control who is using its data. This includes usually the right to get details on which data is stored, for what purpose and to request the deletion in case the purpose is not given anymore.

About Right to Privacy:

The Right to privacy is an element of various legal traditions to restrain governmental and private actions that threaten the privacy of individuals.

Privacy is a fundamental right, essential to autonomy and the protection of human dignity, Privacy helps us establish boundaries to limit who has access to our bodies, place and things, as well as our communication and information. Article 21 of the Indian Constitution states that “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law”. 

A very fascinating development in the Indian Constitutional jurisprudence is the extended dimension given to Article 21 by the Supreme Court in the post-Maneka era. The Supreme Court has asserted that Art. 21 is the heart of Fundamental Rights. Article 21 has proved to be multi-dimensional. The extension in the dimensions of Art.21 has been made possible by giving an extended meaning to the word ‘life’ and ‘liberty’ in Article 21. These two words in Art.21 are not to be read narrowly.

These are organic terms that are to be construed meaningfully. The Supreme Court has asserted that in order to treat a right as a fundamental right, it is not necessary that it should be expressly stated in the constitution as a Fundamental Right. Political, social, and economic changes in the country entail the recognition of new rights. The law in its eternal youth grows to meet the demands of society.  The right to privacy is one such right that has come to its existence after widening up the dimensions of Article 21.

The constitution in specific doesn’t grant any right to privacy as such. However, such a right has been culled by the Supreme Court from Art. 21 and several other provisions of the constitution read with the Directive Principles of State Policy. In this paper, we will be discussing a new dimension of Art. 21 that is the Right to Privacy, and also the conflicts related to it.

Republic Act No. 10173, also known as Data Privacy Act is a law that seeks to protect all forms of information, be it private, personal, or sensitive. It is meant to cover both natural and juridical persons involved in the processing of personal information.

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Keywords:

Position of Anti-Privacy Law, Position of Anti-Privacy Law in India, Position of Anti-Privacy Law and its implications.