ONLINE USERS GET THE RIGHT TO KNOW ABOUT THEIR PERSONAL DATA
Twenty years ago, in 2005, Indian citizens got a formidable weapon in the form of Right to Information Act. Now, the The Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 is set to give them a brand new right in respect of their online data.
Any online platform or portal or website, be it a government portal, or a private entity like Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, Google, X, have become data fiduciaries while the common people, the users, are the data principals. People get rights to know about how their personal data is handled, and a range of associated rights to ask questions from the data fiduciaries. There have been some concerns about privacy or snooping by the Government. Necessary checks should be there, but this precious right in respect of personal digital data must be held sacred and paramount. In an increasingly AI driven world, people need all the protection that they can get in respect of their personal data.
Right now, users don’t have any way of asking Meta or X or Google where and in what ways their personal data has been used by them. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act gives the users (data principals) a say in the matter; it gives them control over their personal data kept by an online platform. The law has been passed for over two years, but it still has to be given shape and framework. Once it gets implemented, it will change the way people use social media.