NALSAR To Hold Symposium On Data Privacy

The National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR) University of Law, Hyderabad, will hold a symposium on Data Privacy and Citizen’s Rights on Sunday, 9^th September (10:00 AM to 1:30 PM) to provide multiple stakeholders one platform to discuss and deliberate on the BN Srikrishna Committee Report and Draft Personal Data Protection Bill.

Themes:

1. Privacy and Free Speech: This interaction aims to examine the juxtaposition of the constitutional right to free speech and the now constitutionally affirmed right to privacy. Will a new data protection law impact the publication of leaked documents or sting operations like the Radia tapes or Tehelka’s ‘Operation Westend’? If so, how can journalists mitigate the risk of getting sued for breach of privacy? While the jurisprudence concerning the right to privacy is in its most nascent state, it becomes important for us to explore its contours in light of already established constitutional guarantees.


2. Right to Information and Right to Privacy: How does the right to privacy impact the right to information? The guarantee of these two rights arises from diametrically opposite ideologies, in that privacy aims to shield from the public domain information and data concerning individuals and institutions while the right to information aims to promote transparency and disclosure of information held by the state. However, the question remains, is the existence of these two rights necessarily mutually exclusive? Will a new data protection law make it difficult to promote transparency under the Right to Information Act? Is there is a possibility of a clash between the Information Commissions and the proposed Data Protection Authority? This panel would analyze the co-existence and competitive nature of these two rights in the context of the Indian legal space.


3. Surveillance: As we move towards a form of governance that is increasingly capable of surveilling individual movements and actions, it becomes extremely necessary for us to understand the nature of surveillance. Can data privacy be compromised for surveillance that may be necessary for increased safety in our physical and virtual living spaces? Are there any provisions that protect data in cases of it becoming exploitable? What is the interaction of international statutes (like ICCPR) and the latest Indian statute in terms of its recognition of the necessity of surveillance in contrast to the necessity of protection of data?

The Technology Law Forum is a student-run body that aims at developing interest and increasing accessibility in technology law. The aim of this group is to foster an environment of open discussion and collaboration with regards to the field, and to that extent, we would like to have interactions with eminent stakeholders in the field.

Previous speakers include Geetha Hariharan from CIS, Apar Gupta and Raman Chima from the Internet Freedom Foundation, Samiran Gupta from ICANN and Arghya Sengupta from Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. The forum also runs a blog which can be accessed here.

For any queries or further information, please feel free to contact Vishal Rakhecha at +91-9177020360.