I value discretion and privacy in a world when everyone displays and tells
everything.
Cybercrime has skyrocketed as social networking services have grown in
popularity. With the advancement of technology, it has become vital for the
country to prioritize issues and enact strong rules. Individual users,
particularly women and children, are becoming increasingly interested in social
media, and they are falling prey to unknown persons with whom they mix through
their online registered profile. Nonetheless, the friend list or contact list
contains some unknown pals and thinking sharing.
In this aspect, social media does provide some privacy safeguards. As a result,
the post will concentrate on how safe it is to disclose personal information
online, the crimes that occur, the concerns that arise, the laws governing
social media privacy in India, and some recommendations for the development of
such laws.
Right to privacy
Privacy has been succinctly defined as the situation or state of being free
from public intrusion into or interference with one's conduct or decisions.
However, whether the right to privacy is a basic right in India has long been a
source of contention. In the case of m.p Sharma versus Satish Chandra, it was
determined that the right to privacy is not a basic right under the
constitution.
In
Kharak Singh vs. State of UP it was also determined that privacy was not a
protected fundamental right. It did, however, hold that article 21 (right to
life) was the repository of residual personal rights and acknowledged the common
law right to privacy. However, following the
Maneka Gandhi case, the strategy
was radically altered. In the case of Maneka Gandhi and r.c. cooper, it was
determined that freedom and liberty are null and void in the absence of the
right to privacy. As a result, in this case, we saw a high level of judicial
activism acting as a Marshall in a new era of expanded dimensions of the right
to life and personal liberty.
Right to privacy and social media
Social media is a type of internet-based communication. There are numerous
different types of social media, such as blogs, micro-blogs, wikis, social
networking sites, widgets, and virtual worlds. However, social networking
services such as Facebook, twitter, WhatsApp, Orkut, and myspace have grown in
popularity in recent years. However, to use a social networking site and
criticize other people's posts, a person must first register a profile. The
primary goal of these social networking services is to create kinship in the
virtual world. However, the users were unaware that this windfall was also
accompanied by criminality.
The concept of cybercrime originated in the 1990s and has climbed the success
ladder to a whole new level. But it is us who made the bargain with the devil,
and our privacy is now jeopardized. Ip address, key terms used in searches,
seemingly innocuous websites visited, information shared on social media, online
transactions, cookies collecting user browser history, mobile registration- each
use of the internet generates personal information about an individual. Like
amazon, the site instantaneously records our personal information.
If they do this because the more personal information they supply, the more
appealing they are to prospective advertisers.
As a result, incidences of
identity theft, sexual predators, inadvertent stardom, cyber staking, and
defamation have begun to garner attention. Scams have also been detected, such
as koobface, who took personal information from Facebook users and gave it to
the incorrect individuals. According to reports, html code version 5 will
provide advertising corporations access to users' online activities such as
texts, images, emails, and many more.
Typically, children are the most vulnerable. They no longer hesitate to reveal
their personal information with someone they do not even know. This is due to a
lack of mental development and the ability to distinguish between right and
wrong. As a result, these sexual predators and identity thieves are easily
traced.
Twitter has revealed that they scanned their users' phone numbers and integrated
them into their website database to learn more about them. The oxymoronic nature
of Facebook is evident when it first claims that we own all our content that we
post on Facebook and then claims that we users grant Facebook permission to use
any Ip content that we publish in connection with Facebook. People have also
been claimed to have committed suicide because of their embarrassing films being
posted on YouTube.
The lack of transparency of social networking sites, as well as the day-to-day
crimes taking place in cyberspace, have caused us to think critically about what
we truly want to share and how our information is being managed. As a result,
before providing our assent, we should carefully study the privacy policies.
Facebook, on the other hand, has aided by introducing tools like as blocking,
reporting, and protecting. Twitter users can choose to share information with
only their followers.
Social media privacy and data protection legislation in India
The lack of transparency of social networking sites, as well as the day-to-day
crimes taking place in cyberspace, have caused us to reconsider what we truly
want to share and how our information is being managed. As a result, before
giving our assent, we should carefully examine the privacy policies.
However, Facebook has aided by introducing alternatives like as banning,
reporting, and protecting. Twitter allows you to share information with only
your followers.
Conclusion and recommendations
In India, violations of privacy are escalating at an alarming rate. It is past
time for India to value privacy and acknowledge it as a basic human right.
However, there are some faults that must be addressed first.
As an example: application developers should transition from a
data-centric to a consumer-trust-centric strategy so that privacy rules may
identify who they will regulate and what they will protect. Following the
supreme court's decision in the WhatsApp case, it has become critical that
subscribers be given the option of sharing or not sharing their data.
The German privacy legislation's "Datensparsamkeit" (data minimization)
principle should be followed.
Instead of a single ‘I agree' button, Indian consumers should be given the
opportunity to opt out of individual functionalities (as introduced by EU
legislation).
Award Winning Article Is Written By: Mr.Dipankar Banerjee
Authentication No: JL34618538369-01-0721
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