Data security has assumed significant importance in the digitized world due to rising cyber crimes. The Justice B. N. Srikrishna Committee Report addresses issues related to data security. What, in your view, are the strengths and weaknesses of the Report relating to protection of personal data in cyber space?

Rising cybercrime and the Supreme Court's recognition of privacy as a fundamental right (Justice K.S. Puttaswamy, 2017) made data protection urgent. The Justice B. N. Srikrishna Committee submitted its report, A Free and Fair Digital Economy, in 2018, along with a draft Personal Data Protection Bill.

Strengths of the report

• It centres the individual as a data principal with enforceable rights of access, correction, portability and to be forgotten.
• It introduces obligations on data fiduciaries: consent, purpose and collection limitation, and accountability.
• It proposes an independent Data Protection Authority for enforcement and penalties.
• It recognises sensitive personal data needing higher safeguards and balances privacy with innovation.

Weaknesses

• Broad exemptions for the State on grounds of security and sovereignty could enable surveillance without adequate oversight.
• Mandatory data localisation raised compliance costs and concerns for cross-border business.
• Consent-heavy architecture may burden users, and enforcement capacity of the proposed authority was untested.

Assessment

The report was a landmark first framework, strong on principles but needing tighter limits on state exemptions and workable localisation norms. It laid the groundwork that eventually shaped the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.