By Aishwarya Jagani

India is in dire need of a data-privacy law, experts told Digital Privacy News, but they continue to raise concerns about a 2019 proposal that is being studied by a joint committee of Parliament.

“India, as of today, neither has a dedicated law on data-protection and privacy — nor has extensively adopted any international guidelines on privacy or data-protection,” said Saikiran Kannan, an open-source intelligence analyst in Singapore and a writer for India Today and Zenger News.

“There are some specific provisions on privacy listed in the Information Technology Act of 2000 (IT Act),” he added. “But these are very basic laws when compared to countries like U.S.A., Singapore and U.K.

“They can so easily be subverted — and the judicial proceedings in such cases take a long time to prosecute,” Kannan said.

By Aishwarya Jagani

 As India Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government gears up for a full rollout of its National Digital Health Mission (NDHM), experts continue to raise privacy and security concerns over what could be the world’s biggest health database. 

“Large databases are always risky, especially when handling sensitive data like health data,” Prasanth Sugathan, legal director of the Software Freedom Law Centre in New Delhi, told Digital Privacy News.

“Moreover, in this case, the data could be exposed to multiple entities — and the data-security practices of these entities will have a bearing on the safety of the sensitive health data” he said.

The NDHM was announced in August, with test-runs launched in six union territories — federal areas that are governed, in part or in whole, by Modi’s government.

By Sakshi Udavant

Months after full-scale internet shutdowns ended in Kashmir and other parts of India, functional online services have not been fully restored — leaving citizens helpless during the COVID-19 crisis, privacy advocates told Digital Privacy News.

“Turning off internet access is a drastic decision that hurts the state’s own ability to communicate with their people,” said Rachel Vrabec, a privacy researcher and founder of the privacy start-up Kanary.

“However, they justify these actions in order to prevent ‘rumors from spreading and causing violence.’

“Because they don’t control the platforms where organizing is taking place or rumors are spreading, like Facebook or Twitter, they shut off access to the entire network,” she added.