Govt appoints expert group to draft new data protection law amid right to privacy debate
THE MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND IT HAS APPOINTED AN EXPERT GROUP TO
DRAFT LEGISLATION ON DATA PROTECTION EVEN AS THE SUPREME COURT HEARS
ARGUMENTS ON WHETHER RIGHT TO PRIVACY IS A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT.
THE MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (MEITY) HAS
APPOINTED AN EXPERT GROUP HEADED BY A FORMER SUPREME COURT JUDGE TO
DRAFT LEGISLATION ON DATA PROTECTION EVEN AS THE SUPREME COURT HEARS
ARGUMENTS ON WHETHER RIGHT TO PRIVACY IS A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT.
The issues of data protection and privacy are related and the apex court
has been hearing cases significantly inclined towards the former. The
matter came up after several cases on the applicability and legality of
Aadhaar, the ID number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of
India (UIDAI), were filed in the court.
Aadhaar has become vital for several government welfare schemes and the
tax administration system. The Centre also wants to make Aadhaar the
backbone of all electronic transactions. However, the absence of privacy
and data protection laws against Aadhaar have led to cases on the
matter being heard by the court's Constitution Bench.
Former Justice BN Srikrishna led 10-member expert group is being
appointed by the MeitY "to study and identify key data protection issues
and recommend methods for addressing them," a press release said on
August, 1.
It is being constituted to keep "personal data of citizens secure and
protected." "Protection of Data is expected to provide big boost to
Digital economy of the country," the press release added.
The members of the committee include Department of Telecommunications
Secretary Aruna Sundararajan, UIDAI chief Ajay Bhushan Pandey, National
Cyber Security Coordinator Gulshan Rai, Indian Institute of Technology
Bhilai Director Rajat Moona, Indian Institute of Management Indore
Director Rishikesha Krishnan and Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy's Arghya
Sengupta.
The UIDAI informed the Supreme Court about the government's decision to
set up the expert group on Tuesday. The ministry will have to consult
other members, collect information and provide it to the expert group
within eight weeks.
Cannot use Aadhaar to track citizens, UIDAI tells SC
The UIDAI had told the SC on Tuesday that it was impossible to use
Aadhaar to track citizens because there are safeguards in the law and
the system does not allow the government to use the unique
identification number for surveillance even if a court allows them to do
so.
Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta also said that too much was
being made of making the right to privacy a fundamental right. "Nothing
is private in the online era," Mehta told the bench that is considering
whether privacy is a fundamental right for every Indian.
The UIDAI said that privacy was protected under the law on Aadhaar but
was never a constitutional right. It added that the SC does not need to
elevate right to privacy to a fundamental right. "It is a right that
cannot be defined and is too subjective. What may be the notion of
privacy for one person may differ from that of another," Mehta said.
When Justice DY Chandrachud asked what would happen if the Parliament
decided tomorrow that Aadhaar was not needed, Justice Rohinton F.
Nariman intervened and suggested that the court could recognise right to
privacy as a fundamental right and balance it against the interests of
Aadhaar.
Source : http://www.ibtimes.co.in/
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