The story of the “Indian Panoptes”

Will it have an ending different from the one described in Greek mythology?

Argus Panoptes was the 100-eyed giant in Greek mythology, who was mandated to be a watchman. The perseverance of this mythical character allowed him to leave an imprint on folklore. His tale was that of the giant who had so many eyes that not all could rest at a time — rendering some of the eyes to be active at all times.

From the three-eyed Zeus to the third eye of Lord Shiva and the third eye of Lord Buddha, the third eye as a concept is associated with a sense of spiritual awakening and clarity.

You might be wondering that at a time when we are fighting a health crisis and dealing with economic uncertainty while trying to maintain our mental balance, why should we worry about mythological creatures or our third-eye — which many of us might not have experienced or might not be aware of. Your inability to understand this would be completely normal, as the new world distractions haven’t given you the opportunity to understand these basic principles of life. Or maybe like other humans we are hallucinated by the lust of a limited sense of matter and materiality.

But as we traverse through the data-driven economy, mobile applications and digital screens have become the primary mediums through which we interact with our reality. Consequently, these digital tools veil the modern day Panoptes in India. Being oblivious to mythology and our spiritual roots makes it difficult for us to link facts to the past or gain the consciousness of the sacred science (that would help us develop clairvoyance and demystify our inner world). What is ludicrous or rather ironical is that the modern day Indian Panoptes is designated to use citizen’s digital data to benefit select entities without taking their “consent” (a word that Indians will take a long time to understand). Furthermore, over time, Panoptes in today’s time has usurped a position that aides it to override data privacy only to benefit the public and private actors that mandate these “operations”. This is a silent digital war that is being waged against the data of Indians, and one must not only be cognisant of it but must also actively fight for one's digital rights.

While we are silently fighting this war, public policy measures are being drafted in the background. While the Data Protection Bill, 2019 — which is under discussion in a joint parliamentary committee — is a good start; India has the habit of learning lessons only when presented with facts that have the clarity of a quartz and for that we would need to see this Bill be enacted as a law. Till its enactment, not only is the personal data of Indians under possible threat but the adjudication of the violation of the principles of this Bill is a key concern. In addition to fighting these digital battles, the amendment in FDI rules with respect to neighbouring countries, the geopolitical tension with China followed by the ban of 59 Chinese apps under Section 69-A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, have only underlined the importance of data privacy and cyber security for a digitising nation like India. Ergo, I believe we need to think expansively about this digital change we are seeking. While we need to design policies that support the future, we need to ensure that the laws aren’t drafted to selectively exclude certain members: Section 35 of the Data Protection Bill, 2019, does just that by allowing government agencies to be exempt from its purview. As India is building its arsenal to up its surveillance game, one must be a tad worried as it ranks third after Russia and China when it comes to surveilling its citizens.

While national security should hold primacy, it must not be at the cost privacy and data (the new oil) of its citizens. With the playbook we are following, India might be on its way to recreate Xi’s China or Putin’s Russia only with some garam masala (advocacy groups and activists) and haldi (an active judiciary).

Keeping the role of Panoptes, the philosophy of the third eye and current public policy measures to fight data privacy in mind, one must realise that Panoptes was slayed by Hermes. Who will be Hermes to the Indian Panoptes?

The answer to this question might not be an easy one, but it’s important to answer it. As India Inc. shifts to work from home for the short term due the Covid-19 crisis, the demand for data centres has surged. However, we would need to ensure proportionate cyber security measures in order to safeguard the data of Indians and to hedge the reputational risk for brands that are susceptible to cyberattacks. Going forward, I believe the following trends with respect to ensuring data privacy in India will be crucial to watch.

AI will be the preferred tool to deal with sensitive personal data and will find an increased role in compliance activities; the cyber insurance market in India will change gears to reach approximately $1.15 billion by 2026; new business models will emerge to service these privacy concerns; and investors over the next three years will fortify the data security policies of their portfolio companies before cutting a cheque thereby shifting toward an ethics-embedded tech strategy.

With these trends on the cards, do you feel the Indian Panoptes will have a different ending?