India need to focus on privacy & data collection laws: Software Freedom Law Center

New Delhi: As India moves towards becoming the world's second largest Internet market, the need for privacy and data protection is of critical importance to safeguard interests of netizens, activists have said. According to Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC), which provides free legal services to developers of free and open source softwares, Europe is having an "intense" debate on the right to privacy and protection of data, something which is missing in India.

In wake of the global uproar caused by Edward Snowden's revelations on US surveillance and increasing interest around data protection and privacy, it is time for a comprehensive review of India's legislations that regulate surveillance, SFLC India Founding Director Mishi Choudhary said. "Europe is fighting for data protection and privacy, but here in India, we are not talking about these issues. I think the time is ripe to have a decision on to have a law on privacy and data collection," she said..

SFLC is a donor-supported legal services organisation that brings together lawyers, policy analysts, technologists and students to protect freedom in the digital world. Quoting SFLC's report "Communications Surveillance in India', Choudhary said the language of the law needs to be considerably narrowed down to specify objectively verifiable situations under which surveillance may be legitimately undertaken.

According to the report, the procedure to be followed while conducting surveillance of communications must be "clearly spelled out in its entirety" and any opportunity for "misuse of authority must be done away with by holding the concerned agents of intercepting agencies to highest standards of accountability.

The provision for an independent oversight of the surveillance process is a necessity and the regime of blanket denial of surveillance-related information requests made by the public must also be done with, the report added.

Choudhary emphasised on the need to make the surveillance regime in India needs more transparent. The report said: "Citizens must have a legislatively recognised right to privacy, the violation of which will entitle them to constitutional remedies."