In the contemporary digital age, there lies an increased responsibility on e-platforms and websites. People are increasingly spending their time online. The lack of requisite laws has left them in a vulnerable position. Giants like Facebook have repeatedly been alleged of selling sensitive information of its users to corporations for targeted advertisement campaigns and even political organizations which have the power to sway public thinking.
The Union Law Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday, 22nd July 2020,
said that all digital platforms need to be accountable and sensitive towards issues of defense of sovereign countries and data privacy of citizens. He said this at a virtual meeting of G20 Digital Economy Ministers by virtue of him holding the portfolios for IT and Telecom.
These comments come after the Indian governments move to ban 59 Chinese applications including apps like TikTok and Shareit among others. He cited this move as a response to the threat to national security and sovereignty of India amid the escalated border tensions with China in Ladakh.
He said-
Digital platforms need to be responsive, accountable and sensitive to concerns of sovereign nations as far as safety, defense, and data privacy is concerned,
We all need to acknowledge that the digital economy must go hand in hand with the data economy because data is an important component to accelerate the digital economy. We understand the issue of data innovation, of data crossflow, but we also need to acknowledge who has sovereignty over data. We are very clear that data must belong to the sovereign nation concerned, to protect the privacy of its people, to protect digital concerns for its people,
According to an official statement released by him, Mr. Prasad added that India will soon put a robust data protection law in place which aims to address data privacy-related concerns of citizens and also ensure availability of data for innovation and economic development. The official statement added-
In view of these concerns, digital platforms having a presence in many countries must become trustworthy, safe and secure
