Data Privacy

Former Karnataka High Court judge Justice K S Puttaswamy, who played a pivotal role in declaration of right to privacy as a fundamental right from the Supreme Court in 2017, passed away at his Bengaluru residence on Monday. He was 98. Justice Puttaswamy was the lead petitioner who had moved the apex court in 2012 challenging the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar scheme as being violative of the privacy right. The Aadhaar scheme subsequently received legislative sanction. In a landmark verdict in August 2017, a nine-judge bench through an unanimous verdict declared the right to privacy a fundamental right under Article 21 (protection of life and personal liberty) of the Constitution. It had underlined privacy to be "the constitutional core of human dignity". Born on February 8, 1926, Puttaswamy studied at Maharaja's College, Mysore and obtained a law degree from Government Law College, Bengaluru. He was enrolled as an advocate in January 1952 and became the Karnataka High Co

Nearly half of it has been facilitated in the second half of financial year 2024 (H2FY24)

The fine print in terms of use agreements, which most users do not read in detail, often contains clauses that permit such invasive practices

These practices, as defined by the report, include excessive data collection, secondary processing without consent, among others

They sometimes misuse personal information collected during tax preparation, leading to identity theft or unauthorised financial transactions

The said 'data expert' may be a single person or multiple people, depending on the requirements of a particular ministry

Calling them "most sensitive permissions," the report on currency and finance has highlighted that fintech apps often collect personal data, potentially invading users' privacy

In a blog post on Monday, Google said it decided to abandon the plan after considering the impact of the changes on publishers, advertisers and everyone involved in online advertising industry

Cookies are packets of information that allow websites and advertisers to identify individual web surfers and track their browsing habits, but they can also be used for unwanted surveillance

Tech giants Google, Meta, YouTube, and Snap are concerned over India's new Digital Personal Data Protection Act's restrictions on behavioural tracking of children as they may compromise child safety

Experts suggest data privacy concerns, lack of tech infra may have led to decision

Draft of Digital Personal Data Protection rules are in an advanced stage, and industry consultation will start soon, said Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of Electronics and I-T, Railways, and I&B

A study by Surfshark's research hub revealed that one in 10 smart home apps collects user data for tracking purposes

The notification of the rules to India's data privacy law have been long awaited

Government on Monday unveiled the Chakshu portal under the umbrella of Sanchar Sathi to enable subscribers to report suspected fraud calls, messages like lottery offer, job offers and even suspected leak of phone numbers by businesses. Union IT and Communications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that through digital measures to check fraud and crime, the Department of Telecom Services has been able to help citizens save around Rs 1000 crore in the last nine months and Rs 1008 crore has been frozen in various bank accounts that were linked to fraudulent transactions. "Chakshu is about reporting something which people suspect is fraud," Vaishnaw said. When asked about the process put in place on mobile numbers that are leaked by businesses, the minister said that subscribers can report about the number of leaks on the Chakshu portal and action will be taken against the culprit. The minister said that 1 crore mobile numbers have been disconnected in the last nine months that were linked

The consumer bodies said Meta is not complying with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rules on fair processing, data minimisation and purpose limitation

Digi Yatra uses facial recognition technology for entry and security clearance at various airports in India. The air travel online platform is voluntary

Amid rising cyber threats, DPDP Act marks a pivotal step in data privacy management, with stakeholders eager for comprehensive guidelines

92% companies in India recognise customers want adequate protection of their data: Cisco survey

Digi Yatra is purely voluntary for air passengers and personnel at airports have been directed to collect data for the application only with the consent of passengers, according to Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia. There have been complaints that biometric data for Digi Yatra were being gathered from passengers without their consent and the issue was flagged to the minister by Rajya Sabha member Saket Gokhale. Digi Yatra, which provides for contactless, seamless movement of passengers at various check points at airports based on Facial Recognition Technology (FRT), is currently available at a minimum 13 airports for domestic passengers. In response to the member, Scindia has said that the issue was examined and "airport operators have been advised to sensitise Digi buddies on consent taking process and keeping use of Digi Yatra completely voluntary". To support passengers with the use of Digi Yatra, services of individuals called Digi buddies have been made available at