Personal Data under the Constitution
Speakers: K.V. Viswanathan, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India and former Additional Solicitor General; and Mariyam Kamil, DPhil Candidate, University of Oxford, General Editor, Oxford University Commonwealth Law Journal (2019-20)
Moderator: Lalit Panda, Senior Resident Fellow (Charkha), Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy
Following the Supreme Court’s 2017 decision affirming a fundamental right to privacy under the Constitution and its 2018 decision on the Aadhaar Act, the governance and governmental use of information technology in India has seen a range of developments at a rapid pace. Much of the conversation on these developments has gravitated towards “informational privacy” or the right of an individual to exercise control over information related to them. This interest in informational privacy has been a paramount concern in a variety of issues related to the use of DNA technology, facial recognition systems, the Pegasus spyware, the legal duties of internet platforms, and national security surveillance. In the midst of this flurry of events, the wait for a comprehensive data protection law continues, and it is critical that we have greater clarity on precisely what protection our Constitution provides for our personal data
(Collaboration: Charkha, the Constitutional Law Research Centre, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy)
