Stay firm yet respectful, and over time, they will have to adjust, advises rediffGURU Kanchan Rai, founder of the Let Us Talk Foundation.
Disclosing an individual's income-tax returns is tantamount to violating the person's fundamental right to privacy as recognised by the Constitution.
He also made an appeal not to 'overblow' the issue of data breach.
The ministry of electronics and information technology has directed WhatsApp to withdraw its new privacy policy, according to sources. The IT ministry believes that the changes to WhatsApp privacy policy and the manner of introducing the said changes undermines the sacrosanct values of informational privacy, data security and user choice and harms the rights and interests of Indian citizens, government sources said. The government has given seven days to WhatsApp to respond to the notice and if no satisfactory response is received, necessary steps in consonance with law will be taken, sources informed. In a communication to WhatsApp on May 18, the ministry has once again told the messaging platform to withdraw its privacy policy 2021, they said.
A WhatsApp spokesperson said the update 'does not impact the privacy of personal messages for anyone'.
Lack of clarity on data-sharing persists, public health experts sceptic about the pilot that was run in six Union territories as benchmark for national roll-out
The affidavit further said that the IT Rules impose a host of obligations on a company in relation to the security of the data collected by it in the course of its business.
A parliamentary panel on Friday questioned top Twitter officials over a whistle-blower's revelations on its India operations, and gave them a dressing-down as their replies on issue of data security and privacy were "not satisfactory", sources said.
Google's chief privacy officer, Keith Enright, has warned policymakers that frequent and large-scale sharing of citizen data, even if anonymized, can damage users' privacy. Pointing to research that shows data sets lose their anonymity if shared consistently over time, he said: "I would encourage policymakers and companies to be extremely circumspect while proceeding in that direction." Anonymization is a technique that removes or modifies personally identifiable information, resulting in data that cannot be associated with any one individual.
The Centre told the Supreme Court on Tuesday a new data protection bill is ready and will be introduced in the monsoon session of Parliament in July, as the apex court heard a matter related to privacy concerns of social media users.
A new law that defines how companies should process users' data came into force with the President giving assent to the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act passed by Parliament in the just-concluded monsoon session. The law arms individuals with greater control over their data while allowing companies to transfer users' data abroad for processing, except to nations and territories restricted by the Centre through notification. It also gives the government power to seek information from firms and issue directions to block content.
The verdict in the right to privacy case is historic and of global significance because it establishes dharma, righteousness and destroys adharma.
'Please don't forget there's still one final piece to fall in place, which is the Supreme Court judgment. Once that happens, it will be ready for being passed.'
The verdict in the right to privacy case is historic and of global significance because it establishes dharma, righteousness and destroys adharma.
'We have already implemented additional security measures and we will monitor suspicious activities. A thorough security review and an investigation are currently being undertaken.'
He said that as compared to global models costing 2.5 to 3 US dollars per hour usage, India's AI model will cost less than less than Rs 100 per hour (1.16 US dollars per hour) after 40 percent government subsidy.
The most prominent changes deal with how WhatsApp shares information with Facebook and its subsidiaries.
The government on Wednesday withdrew the Personal Data Protection Bill from Lok Sabha and said it will come out with a 'set of fresh legislations' that will fit into the comprehensive legal framework.
rediffGURU Dr Nagarajan JSK helps students make the right career choices, particularly in the fields of medicine and pharmacy.
In a significant order, the Supreme Court has restrained the Enforcement Directorate from accessing and copying content from electronic devices seized during searches against Santiago Martin, also known as the 'lottery king', his relatives, and employees.
Simplifying investment policies at the micro level and introducing a time-bound framework will be critical for India's growth targets, notes Krishna Ella.
The comments assume significance in the backdrop of recent disclosures by messaging giant WhatsApp that said Indian journalists and human rights activists were among those globally spied upon by unnamed entities using an Israeli spyware Pegasus.
With this, Italy becomes the first European country to block the advanced Artificial Intelligence software, which is capable of emulating and elaborate human conversations among other actions.
rediffGURU Aasif Ahmed Khan counsels students on the best career options in tech and engineering.
The company said this new approach allows developers to train artificial intelligence models without the user data leaving the device, while allowing it to do more with less data.
The Rajya Sabha on Wednesday passed the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill 2023 by voice vote following a walkout by opposition members over the Manipur issue.
WhatsApp has scrapped its May 15 deadline for users to accept its controversial privacy policy update and said not accepting the terms will not lead to deletion of accounts.
Suchir Balaji, a 26-year-old Indian-origin former employee of OpenAI, was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on November 26. The medical examiner's office ruled the death a suicide, and police say there is no evidence of foul play. Balaji was known for publicly accusing OpenAI of violating US copyright law while developing ChatGPT, a generative AI program that has become a global sensation. His death comes amid a wave of lawsuits against OpenAI from creators who claim their copyrighted material was used without permission to train ChatGPT.
'In 1984, George Orwell dreamt up the concept of a dictatorship that worked on surveillance.' 'The reality of 2017 goes a long way beyond everything that Orwell imagined.' says Devangshu Datta.
The National Digital Health Mission seeks to provide a unique health ID to each citizen who wishes to have one and also on-board the healthcare service provides - hospitals, pharmacies and diagnostic labs, among others. It will have an online database of doctors and personal health records.
Fair trade regulator Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Wednesday ordered a detailed probe into popular messaging platform WhatsApp's updated privacy policy and terms of service after finding that the 'exploitative and exclusionary conduct' in the garb of the policy update prima facie violated competition norms.
'The information is used only to fight the COVID-19 virus and the privacy terms explicitly state that information will be used only for this purpose.'
'Every Indian citizen is already exposed to massive digital surveillance and most are already vulnerable to data theft and cyber-impersonation as well,' points out Devangshu Datta.
WhatsApp on Tuesday said its latest policy update does not affect the privacy of messages as the Facebook-owned company sought to address concerns around security of user data on the platform.
Whatsapp clarified before the bench that it would not limit the functionality for users who are not opting for new privacy policy in the meantime.
The plea, filed through advocate Vivek Narayan Sharma, had said that the public interest litigation was necessitated due to the alleged failure of the Centre in carrying out its constitutional duty and responsibility to protect the rights to privacy and freedom of speech and expression of the citizens of India.
What all global leaders need to understand is that no Generative AI regulation will work unless they start with the basics, which is data collection, asserts Prosenjit Datta.
WhatsApp was told to delete data of users who chose to opt out of its policy changes before September 25
The Indian market regulator had revamped the FPI regulations in 2014 giving custodians the mandate to collect and verify the KYC documentation of offshore investors
The court said it saw no merit in the petitions of Facebook and WhatsApp to interdict the investigation directed by the Competition Commission of India.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances