Is strong privacy anti-technology? In this digital age, is privacy at odds with innovation? The short answer is NO. The SaveOurPrivacy campaign, supported by the Internet Freedom Foundation, explains why privacy and innovation can co-exist.
The reality is that we need certain guidelines. It is more relevant today that people who are building products and services that touch every part of our lives should know there are certain lines they cannot cross – a digital Laxman Rekha, if you will.
Given technology’s ubiquitous nature, should technology control us or should we as individuals decide the terms on which we engage with technology? Individuals should have the right to determine how technology will affect them and what role it will play in their lives. Choice is central to that idea.
Won’t Privacy Laws Curb the Spirit of Innovation?
Having data protection laws means that we are asking technologists to put privacy at the centre of what they do, not to stop innovating. Privacy protections force innovation in a direction through law that will respect our rights. If we had two versions of an app, one with good privacy and one without it, which one would you choose?
Would it Hinder the Start-Up Ecosystem?
The reality for engineers or product developers and even business people today is that people are worried about how their data is being collected. Not just potential breaches but also how it is in fact being breached. Businesses need to be made accountable. India is one of the few major democracies in the world where citizens don’t know who protects their data, who they can approach and who will ensure that businesses are held accountable when they cross the line.
This video has been made by the SaveOurPrivacy campaign in collaboration with The Jamun Collective as part of a special series in the run up to the first anniversary of the Supreme Court’s right to privacy judgment.
On 24 August 2017, the Supreme Court’s Puttaswamy judgment had affirmed that privacy is a fundamental right, but there remain questions about what exactly this means and how it interacts with the rest of our lives. These videos are an attempt to help understand your right to privacy better, and why it is so important.
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