In a landmark ruling, the Supreme Court upheld that privacy is a fundamental right. The ruling was unanimous with 9-0 judges ruling in favour. The verdict puts an end to a five-year long debate on the issue of constitutional validity of the “right to privacy”. More details to follow.
If you wish to participate in MediaNama’s curated event on “THE FUTURE OF USER DATA IN INDIA” click here. The context: two policy consultations, one at the TRAI and another at MEITY, will close within the next three months. We’re planning a nuanced open discussion on challenges, best practices, and approaches that protect the interests of citizens, government and businesses, and covers policy, legal, business and technology perspectives.
16:17: The blame game begins. Watch the Indian National Congress press conference on the right to privacy judgement.
Watch LIVE:@PChidambaram_IN on Right to PrivacyAICC Press Briefing https://t.co/7R4P5RRFiR
— INC Live (@INCIndiaLive) August 24, 2017
#Aadhar, as conceived by UPA, posed no challenge to the Right to Privacy, it is Modi Sarkar’s implementation which does: @PChidambaram_IN
— INC Live (@INCIndiaLive) August 24, 2017
16:11: Watch the government press conference on right to privacy.
?LIVE: Union Minister @rsprasad addresses media on Supreme Court verdict on #RightToPrivacy https://t.co/2il41jAt9u
— PIB India (@PIB_India) August 24, 2017
16:02: Yup. Totally a Bahubali moment.
#RightToPrivacy pic.twitter.com/Z8daP5kF33
— amrtsh (@floydimus) August 24, 2017
15:37: OOOHHH. The government finally breaks its silence on the SC’s ruling. First off the mark is Ravi Shankar Prasad, the minister of law and justice and IT and technology.
Govt was of the view that #RightToPrivacy should be a fundamental right.
— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) August 24, 2017
But Thejaswi Udupa is busting all sorts of bullshit.
Note the clever usage of tense. It could mean that at some point in time they were, but when they argued in court they changed their mind. https://t.co/MzAguZZZbX
— Thejaswi Udupa (@udupendra) August 24, 2017
15:29: The inimitable Krishna Prasad writes in Churumuri about the response of the government to the triple talaq verdict and right to privacy ruling.
Right to Privacy and Triple Talaq: what the tweets of NaMo and RaGa reveal https://t.co/VQtYPkiqK0 pic.twitter.com/acv6G2eGO2
— churumuri (@churumuri) August 24, 2017
15:13: James Wilson points out an uncomfortable silence.
Its 3 hours passed after the historic judgement on #RightToPrivacy..
I am yet to see a single tweet from my PM
Silence is deafening ?
— James Wilson (@jamewils) August 24, 2017
14:41: NASSCOM & Data Security Council of India (DSCI) hailed the SC’s ruling.
NASSCOM & Data Security Council of India (DSCI) welcome the Supreme Court’s unanimous judgement declaring ‘Privacy as a Fundamental Right’. Mr. R Chandrashekhar, President, NASSCOM said, “This landmark judgment will ensure that protection of citizen’s privacy is a cardinal principle in our growing digital economy. Besides, it will enhance citizens’ trust in digital services, a prerequisite for widespread digital adoption. The ruling also significantly boosts India’s attractiveness as a safe destination for global sourcing.” Ms. Rama Vedashree, CEO, DSCI said, “We have always advocated for a stronger data security regime in the country and this judgement will further reinforce industry efforts and resolve to provide necessary assurance in this regard.” NASSCOM and DSCI will continue to work with Government in accelerating the enforcement framework.
14:31: Also worth reading is Aroon Deep’s personal essay on how the violation of privacy affects everyone. Aroon narrates an incident when he was called in by his headmaster. Read on.
The fight for privacy won’t end in the Supreme Court — and we must win the ones that follow.
My essay for BuzzFeed:https://t.co/uvx3RLZuqA
— help (@AroonDeep) August 2, 2017
14: 27: Throwback to Nikhil’s piece on why it is important for citizens to take control of our data.
In bits and bytes, we are the websites we surf, the comments we leave, the texts we send, the social networks we log on to, the videos we forward, the bills we pay, the subsidies we receive, the advertisements we click on. As more people and devices connect to the internet, it is inevitable that more of what we do will get digitised, collected and stored: what we eat, when we leave home, which flights we prefer, what time we go for a run or hit the gym.
14:22: Factor Daily has a great profile on advocate Shyam Divan and his role in the fight for the right to privacy. Read more here.
“We gave birth to the State. We are sovereign. Will we be put on an electronic leash for our entire lifetimes? If from birth onwards, the State knows everything about you, will the relationship between State and individual remain the same?” , Divan had argued.
13:04: When mums start asking questions on where you going.
ma: where u going? who u going with? when will u come home? u have to tell me
me: well, actually, a 9-judge bench has unanimously declared–
— Rega Jha (@RegaJha) August 24, 2017
12:51: Aditya Kamath to the rescue! The SC ruling in a Google drive.
Here you go https://t.co/lhwLGvR9AW
— Aditya Kamath (@adit1711) August 24, 2017
12:42: The SC ruling also gives hope for reading Section 377.
On the minuscule section of the population of the country for LGBT rights. Raises hopes for 377 reading down. #RightToPrivacy pic.twitter.com/wdBfqmjYux
— Mayank Jain (@Mayank1029) August 24, 2017
12:32:
Privacy. pic.twitter.com/fI2ZnceV9s
— Rohan Venkat (@RohanV) August 24, 2017
12:24: Meanwhile, it’s worth visiting Scroll.in’s M Rajshekar piece on what happens when to privacy when private companies collect data on users. The fight is no longer just about data but even protecting meta data as well. Read here.
12:11: The Supreme Court site is down. Dear lord.
Hahahaha good job, all. pic.twitter.com/lXqK0AnIpK
— Rega Jha (@RegaJha) August 24, 2017
12:02: Thanks for all the fishes. Here are some of the people who kept the good fight going.
A big shoutout to the inimitable Usha Ramanathan who’s led much of the #RightToPrivacy #Aadhar fight tirelessly.
— Niha Masih (@NihaMasih) August 24, 2017
11:55: Any Jio fans in the house?
Now private entities are demanding Aadhaar to buy things with your money. #DestroyTheAadhaar pic.twitter.com/0MsZbBNsZ1
— @kingslyj (@kingslyj) August 24, 2017
11:49: And the Twitter debates begin.
All those celebrating right to privacy, keep this fundamental right in mind if you ever decide to name and shame.
— Mayur Shetty TOI (@mayurshetty01) August 24, 2017
You can’t have rights to both.
— Mayur Shetty TOI (@mayurshetty01) August 24, 2017
11:47: Actions speak louder than words. (Pun intended).
Among all English channels, @republic is the only one covering Col. Purohit on the day when privacy has been held as a fundamental right. pic.twitter.com/FBljL7s5pQ
— Mayank Jain (@Mayank1029) August 24, 2017
11:38: Meanwhile, the SC ruling does will give the ability for journalists, activists, and lawyers to challenge various mass surveillance technologies. The government has three programmes called NATGRID, CMS and Netra. More on that here.
The next battle will be in trying to limit the use of #surveillance capable tech & regimes they effect personal freedoms. #RightToPrivacy
— Saikat Datta (@saikatd) August 24, 2017
11:33: But for now, a well-deserved celebration!
11:31: More reminders. It’s not over yet.
This is NOT a judgement on #Aadhaar. Defining “reasonable restrictions” on #RightToPrivacy will decide the future of UIDAI
— Nitin Sethi (@nit_set) August 24, 2017
11:27: Advocate Apar Gupta reminds us that the journey is not done. What the ruling does give is ammo to fight government making mandatory Aadhaar to all facets of life.
Seems like a complete victory on privacy for now. True test will be its subsequent application. Let’s all thank the Supreme Court.
— Apar (@aparatbar) August 24, 2017
Privacy case irrespective of result will need to be applied to Aadhaar. Will be by subsequent benches. We will succeed by persistence. 2/2
— Apar (@aparatbar) August 24, 2017
11:22:
Government was making a case for why Indians don’t have a right to their bodies. Today we can reclaim what’s ours, our bodies.
— Jairaj Singh (@JairajSinghR) August 24, 2017
In one of the darkest arguments in court, the government argued that citizens don’t have absolute right over their bodies and could not to refuse to give digital samples of their fingerprints and iris for Aadhaar enrolment. This can now be challenged.
11.14: Right to privacy is intrinsic to right to life and is now part of Article 21, part 3, CJI Khehar said while reading the verdict.
