Category: Data Protection

Examining the Rise of the ‘Splinternet’

Posted on by Tech Law Forum NALSAR

[Ed Note: The following post is part of the TLF Editorial Board Test 2020-21. It has been authored by Manasvin Andra, a fourth year student of NALSAR University of Law.]

Data localisation laws have been on the rise in recent years. Since Edward Snowden’s revelations regarding the National Security Agency’s PRISM program, states have begun associating informational security with the need to retain data within their territories. The list of countries insisting on data localisation is long, including Brazil, Germany, Russia and South Korea. India is also on the path to adopting localisation norms, primarily through the revised Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019.

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Investigating The Growing Use, Regulation and Challenges to Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Public Healthcare in India

Posted on by Tech Law Forum NALSAR

[Ed Note: The following post is part of the TLF Editorial Board Test 2020-21. It has been authored by Yashashwini Santuka, a second year student of NALSAR University of Law.]

Advanced systems of healthcare are imperative to the growth of countries, their economies and the well-being of its people. However, developing countries like India are still in the process of adapting to emerging technology in public healthcare due to its resource-constrained setting. The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in this scenario is rapidly spreading in public health. Effective deployment and adapting to its unique features to transform public health completely might take longer due to the systemic disparities observed in the country. While AI holds promise for the health systems, its uniform implementation may pose an issue to traditional patient care systems, patients’ safety, safety of their private medical records, and affordability. Such a situation requires regulators to take a systemic view of the healthcare industry, and possibly pre-empt the potential impact of the use and regulation of AI. This article explores the contextual limitations of the healthcare industry in India concerning the regulation of technology and AI.

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Non-Personal Data Governance Framework: Economic Ramifications on Start-ups

Posted on by Tech Law Forum NALSAR

[Ed Note: The following post is part of the TLF Editorial Board Test 2020-21. It has been authored by Saumya Khandelwal, a second year student of NALSAR University of Law.]

Recently, a report on the ‘Non-Personal Data Governance Framework’ was released by an expert committee established by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) for recommending a framework to regulate Non-Personal Data (‘NPD’). NPD is electronic information that cannot be traced back to an identifiable natural person (learn more about what is data governance here). The committee, believing in the huge potential of data, strove to create a framework to unlock the economic, social and public value of data. One of the objectives of the report is to wipe out the possibility of data monopolies. It aims to create certainty and incentives for innovation to encourage domestic start-ups, spurring digital economy growth. The recommended framework: enabling start-ups/businesses to access meta-data of data-driven businesses and building data marketplaces for easy exchange of data seeks to provide a level-playing field for all Indian actors. The goal of this article would be to show how the draft framework in its present form cannot achieve the aforementioned objective.

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Managing Regulatory Turbulence: Of Privacy, Consent and Drones

Posted on by Tech Law Forum @ NALSAR

[Samraat Basu is a technology and data protection lawyer and Naveen Jain is a corporate lawyer specialising in M&A and PE/VC funding.]

The Indian regulatory landscape regarding the use of remotely piloted and autonomous drones has been evolving over the last few years. In June, the Government of India released the draft Unmanned Aircraft System Rules, 2020 (“UAS Rules”) to regulate the use of drones.

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Metadata by TLF: Issue 16

Posted on by Tech Law Forum @ NALSAR

Welcome to our fortnightly newsletter, where our reporters Kruttika Lokesh and Dhananjay Dhonchak put together handpicked stories from the world of tech law! You can find other issues here.

Union Consumer Affairs Minster issues E-Commerce Rules to shift the focus onto consumer protection

In an increasingly globalised world, major retail companies like Amazon have reached even the most inaccessible places. The consumers that are exposed to e-commerce companies can only be protected in the presence of increased accountability. The newly issued E-Commerce Rules set up a Central Consumer Protection Authority to police companies that violate consumer rights. Misleading ads and unfair trade practices are prevented as e-retailers have to mandatorily disclose return, refund, warranty, exchange, guarantee, delivery and grievance redressal details. Henceforth, prices of products cannot be manipulated to produce unreasonable profits for companies. These rules apply to retailers either registered in India or abroad.

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Metadata by TLF: Issue 14

Posted on by Tech Law Forum @ NALSAR

Welcome to our fortnightly newsletter, where our reporters Kruttika Lokesh and Dhananjay Dhonchak put together handpicked stories from the world of tech law! You can find other issues here.

India bans 59 Chinese Apps including Tik-Tok

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology announced in a press release on 29th June that it had invoked its powers under section 69A of the Information Technology Act to ban 59 Chinese applications. The Indian government cited ‘raging concerns on aspects relating to data security and safeguarding the privacy of 130 crore Indians’ as reasons behind the ban. The move comes after a border skirmish with China resulted in the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers. Regardless of the cybersecurity concerns cited in the press release, speculation remains rife over whether the ban was a retaliatory measure in light of the worsening geopolitical situation between India and China. India is a huge market for Chinese apps, particularly for the video-sharing platform Tik-Tok which had previously been banned in February 2019 for encouraging the spread of pornography and ‘cultural degradation’. The ban was ultimately lifted after assurances by Tik-Tok that it had the tools to censor explicit content. The current ban has been called a purely political decision and criticised for its procedural impropriety and its excessive restriction on dissemination of online content.

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Rethinking the Essential Facilities Doctrine In the Context of the Digital Economy

Posted on by Tech Law Forum @ NALSAR

[This post has been authored by Sanchit Khandelwal, a third year student of NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad.]

The ‘digital economy’ has witnessed remarkable growth and change in the last few decades and promises to continue to do so. Deepened penetration and wider access to the internet has further helped to alter the erstwhile relationship between customers and businesses. The exponential growth of computing power has enabled the upsurge of business models based on the collection and processing of ‘information/data’ exchanged between consumers and business firms.

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How Facial Recognition Systems Threaten the Right to Privacy

Posted on by Tech Law Forum @ NALSAR

[This post has been authored by Prajakta Pradhan, a 1st year student at Dr. Ram Manhar Lohiya National Law University (RMLNLU), Lucknow.]

Facial recognition involves the use of face mapping techniques to identify an individual’s facial features and compares it with available databanks. The facial recognition market is expected to grow to $7.7 billion in 2022 from $4 billion in 2017. The reason for this stellar growth is the varied application of facial recognition technology in both private and public sectors, with governments of many countries using facial recognition for law enforcement and surveillance.

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Abrogating Self-Regulation of E-Commerce Marketplaces: An Analysis of CCI’s Market Study

Posted on by Tech Law Forum @ NALSAR

[This post has been authored by Urmil Shah and Vishwa Mukhtyar, 3rd year students at Auro University, Surat.]

With the growth in economic activities in digital space, the e-commerce industry has gained traction in the last decade and revenue from the sector is expected to shoot USD 120 billion by 2020. Realizing the anti-competitive concerns arising out of the inventory model of e-commerce, whereby the platforms can hold inventory and sell directly to consumers, the DPIIT has disallowed FDI and permitted 100% FDI under automatic route for marketplace model. The Indian anti-trust regulator CCI, in January 2020, released a detailed report on understanding the modus operandi of e-commerce operations in India and the anti-trust ramifications in the market. The focus of the study was on e-commerce marketplace platforms in sector of goods food delivery and accommodation service. Certain competition issues are akin to this sector, which creates a novel groundwork for regulatory supervision for competition authorities includes:

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