Privacy And Data Protection Regulation: Institutionalisation of Data Protection Board

ABSTRACT

Human life is not just the bare minimum fulfilment of food, clothing and shelter, but it is a lot more than that, as had been elaborated and established by the Constitution of India in its Article 21 as well as several landmark precedents over it that the fundamental Right to Life is not just limited to merely existing but it also embraces living with human dignity and personal choice. And this necessity has not emerged newly in independent India or the contemporary world but history, as far back as it has been known, bears witness to the cruciality of personal autonomy and privacy. Indeed, revolutions and wars had been waged for this cause and its violations because a fatal blow to one’s individuality shall also be blowing one’s cloak and dagger. Even today, in the modern world with some semblance of stability, superficial as it may be, the perpetuation of this perpetration for power over people still primarily points to penetrate the premises of privacy again. With the recent globalization and developments in technology, human whereabouts and whatnots have now acquired digital footprints and hold virtually no demarcations anymore. In such a scenario and expanse, new arenas have been unlocked to scope, but so have the crimes stemming from them as well. Cybercrime, in particular, has been evolving exponentially, more so after the pandemic-induced shift to cyberspace. Regarding these dynamics, Indian law and order fall behind; however, taking cognizance of that in a welcomed move, the Legislature had introduced the Personal Data Protection Bill in 2019. But for one reason or the other, it has been going through reviews and updates ever since. This Research Paper shall take up this subject issue and extrapolate on the current scenario, the changes needed, including the Data Protection Board, and their inconsistencies