BOOST FOR DATA PRIVACY

THE CENTRE SAYS ONLINE DATA PRIVACY IS PART OF AN INDIVIDUAL’S FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT

In a submission that could help people in asserting their data privacy, the Centre on Friday informed the Supreme Court that protection of data being shared on WhatsApp and other social media networks is an integral part of right to life — a fundamental right — under Article 21 of the Constitution.

Additional solicitor-general P.S. Narasimha told a fivejudge Constitution bench of Justices Dipak Misra, A.K. Sikri, Amitav Roy, A.M. Khanwilkar and M.M. Shantanagouder that an individual’s personal data is an integral part of his right to lead a life with dignity.

“If there is any contractual obligation between the individual and service provider which impinges on my right, the state will have to intervene and regulate sharing of such data. The government will bring a regulatory framework to protect privacy of messages in the social media.”

This stand of the Centre is in contrast to the stand taken by the government before a nine-judge Constitution bench hearing the ‘right to privacy’ issue, that sharing of data for the Aadhaar card can be shared for certain purposes as ‘right to privacy’ is not a fundamental right.

Senior counsel Harish Salve said many countries had introduced data protection policies and the Centre must frame data control policy for service providers that they could not use the data for commercial purposes.