Monday 22 June 2020

Short Q & A: Big data ecosystem.


Hello law knowledge seekers. In this blog again there are short Q and A for you based on data protection.

cyber security and data protection
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Q. Enlist parts of Big Data Ecosystem?
Ans. Other technological developments such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, the Internet of Things are all part of the Big Data ecosystem and their use is becoming increasingly commonplace.

Q. What are the two different models of the data protection?
Ans. 1) European Union (EU) model and 2) American Marketplace Model

Q. What are the tree main perspectives of Data protection?
Ans. Protection of personal data -
1. Everyone has the right to the protection of personal data concerning him or her.
2. Such data must be processed fairly for specified purposes and on the basis of the consent of the person concerned or some other legitimate basis laid down by law. Everyone has the right of access to data which has been collected concerning him or her, and the right to have it rectified.
3. Compliance with these rules shall be subject to control by an independent authority.

Q. What is main base of EU model?
Ans. The EU model or European Union Model of Data protection is completely based on the principle that right to privacy and right to protection of personal data are fundamental rights recognised by Article 765 and Article 866 of European charter of Fundamental Rights (EU charter).

Q. Enlist the sensitive personal data?
Ans. racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade-union membership, and data concerning health and sex life etc. are sensitive personal data and should be collected in limit.

Q. Which principles must be complied for lawful and fair processing of personal data by an entity?
Ans. For processing to be lawful and fair, the entity collecting personal data must comply with an extensive range of principles such as that of purpose specification, data minimisation, data quality, security safeguards, etc.

Q. What are the individual participation rights guaranteed under law?
Ans. a) the right to confirm if data about oneself is being collected, b) the right to access data, c) the right to rectification of data, d) the right to data portability, e) the right to restrict processing, f) the right to erasure, g) the right to object to processing, h) the right to object to processing for the purpose of direct marketing, i) the right to object to automated decisions.

Q. What is the base of United States privacy policy?
Ans. In United States, privacy protection is essentially a liberty protection i.e. protection of the personal space from government.

Q. What are two trends in US model of data protection?
Ans. The US approach to data protection thus has two discernible trends— stringent norms for government processing of personal information; and notice and choice based models for private sector data processing.


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Monday 15 June 2020

Short Q & A: OECD


Hello law professionals and legal knowledge seekers. In this blog I am sharing some short Q & A about FIPPS and OECD. Both of them are the base of data protection law and information technology law across the globe.

Back to the Future in Device Security: Leveraging FIPPs to ...
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Q. Enlist important FIPPS?
Ans. The FIPPS are as follows:
1. There must be no personal-data record-keeping systems whose very existence is secret.
2. There must be a way for an individual, to find out what information about him is in a record and how it is used.
3. There must be a way for an individual to prevent information about him obtained for one purpose from being used or made available for other purposes without his consent.
4. There must be a way for an individual to correct or amend a record of identifiable information about him.

Q. What is OECD?
Ans. Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development who followed FIPPS in 1980s to create Privacy guidelines known as OECD guidelines.

Q. What is intention of OECD guidelines?
Ans. The OECD Guidelines were significantly inspired by the FIPPS and were intended to provide a framework for harmonising national privacy legislations amongst OECD members, while upholding human rights, and preventing interruptions in international flows of data.

Q. What is the base of data protection framework around the world?
Ans. The OECD guidelines are the base of any data protection framework around the world and are deemed to be the first internationally agreed upon statement of core information privacy principles.

Q. When did OECD guidelines updated?
Ans. OECD guidelines were updated in 2013 so that it handles the excessive use of personal data.

Q. What are the core privacy principles in 2013 OECD guidelines?
Ans. The 2013 OECD Guidelines keep the core privacy principles such as collection limitation, data quality and purpose specification etc. intact, several new elements to strengthen data safeguards have been introduced. These include: privacy management programs to enhance accountability of the data controller, data security breach notification which oblige data controllers to.

Q. What are the characteristics of Big Data?
Ans. Big Data is usually characterised by 3 Vs, namely 1) volume as in massive datasets, 2) velocity which relates to real time data, and 3) variety which relates to different sources of data.

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Tuesday 9 June 2020

Short Q & A: Aadhaar Act


Here are some short Q and A on Aadhaar Act.

How, What, Why, UIDAI: Aadhaar verdict throws up as many questions ...

Q. What is full name of Aadhaar Act?
Ans. The Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 (Aadhaar Act)
Q. What is purpose of Aadhaar Act?
Ans. The Aadhaar Act enables the Government to collect identity information from citizens including their biometrics, issue a unique identification number or an Aadhaar Number on the basis of such biometric information, and thereafter provide targeted delivery of subsidies, benefits and services to them.
Q. What is Aadhaar based authentication?
Ans. The Aadhaar Act also provides for Aadhaar based authentication services wherein a requesting entity (government / public and private entities / agencies) can request the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to verify / validate the correctness of the identity information submitted by individuals to be able to extend services to them.
Q. Which type of consent is required in Aadhaar based authentication?
Ans. For Aadhaar Based Authentication the requesting entity is required to obtain the consent of the individual before obtaining his / her identity information for the purpose of authentication and must use his / her identity information only for the purpose of authentication.
Q. Which authority is established by Aadhaar Act?
Ans. The Aadhaar Act establishes an authority, namely, the UIDAI, which is responsible for the administration of the said Act.
Q. Which database is governed by Aadhaar Act?
Ans. It also establishes a Central Identities Data Repository (CIDR) which is a database holding Aadhaar Numbers and corresponding demographic and biometric information.

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Monday 8 June 2020

Short Q & A: Privacy


Hello my law professionals and law knowledge seekers. This is short Q & A collection on Privacy law. Privacy is deeply related to data protection.

20 Important Data Privacy Questions You Should be Asking Now.jpg
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Q. Does data protection affects all types of privacy?
Ans. Basically data protection is linked with informational privacy but also indirectly has impact on decisional privacy and physical privacy.

Q. How information privacy is a freedom to an individual?
Ans. Informational privacy is often understood as the freedom of individuals ―to determine for themselves when, how, and to what extent information about them is communicated to others and this freedom allows for individuals to protect themselves from harm.

Q. What is a key difference between defamation law and privacy law?
Ans. Laws on defamation generally prohibit disclosure of personal information only if it is false. Privacy, on the other hand, would even protect against disclosure of truthful personal information.

Q. What is a subjective harm to an individual?
Ans. A subjective harm is one where an individual has not actually suffered any tangible loss but anticipates such loss after personal information is collected. The uncertainty, anxiety and fear of potential observation are the identified harms in this situation.

Q. What is an objective harm to an individual?
Ans. Objective harms are separately identified when the use of one’s personal information actually results in some damage, whether through loss of reputation or through some other change in the treatment of the individual by society. Data protection must account for both these kinds of harms which arise as a result of unregulated collection and use of personal information.

Q. Which committee initialised the data protection need in United States?
Ans. Advisory Committee in the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW Committee) of United States examined the various legal and technological issues raised vis-a-vis increasingly automated processing of data during 1970s.

Q. Name the landmark report of HEW committee of United States?
Ans. Records, Computers and the Rights of Citizens: Report of the Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Automated Personal Data Systems

Q. What are FIPPS?
Ans. The HEW committee’s report suggested Code of Fair Information Practices based on Fair Information Practices Principles (FIPPS). The FIPPS are a set of principles which prescribe how data should be handled, stored and managed to maintain fairness, privacy and security in a rapidly growing global technology environment. FIPPS are now deemed to be the bedrock of modern data protection laws across the world.


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Saturday 6 June 2020

Article 13 of COI

Article 13 as it is in Constitution:
13. Laws inconsistent with or in derogation of the fundamental rights.—
(1) All laws in force in the territory of India immediately before the commencement of this Constitution, in so far as they are inconsistent with the provisions of this Part, shall, to the extent of such inconsistency, be void.
(2) The State shall not make any law which takes away or abridges the rights conferred by this Part and any law made in contravention of this clause shall, to the extent of the contravention, be void.
(3) In this article, unless the context otherwise requires,—
(a) “law” includes any Ordinance, order, bye-law, rule, regulation, notification, custom or usage having in the territory of India the force of law;
(b) “laws in force” includes laws passed or made by a Legislature or other competent authority in the territory of India before the commencement of this Constitution and not previously repealed, notwithstanding that any such law or any part thereof may not be then in operation either at all or in particular areas.
1[(4) Nothing in this article shall apply to any amendment of this Constitution made under article 368.]
Note: 1. Ins. by the Constitution (Twenty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1971, s. 2 (w.e.f. 5-11-1971).
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Short Q and A:
Q 1. What is Article 13 is about?
Ans. Article 13 is about the inconsistency of the laws with fundamental rights described in Part III of the Constitution.

Q 2.  Which laws are made void under Clause (1) of Article 13 of COI?
Ans. All laws in force within the territory of Bharat immediately before the commencement of the constitution which are inconsistent with the fundamental rights described under Part III of the constitution are made void upto the extent of such inconsistency under Clause (1) of Article 13 of COI.

Q 3. Is there any provision for making laws by State in future? What is it?
Ans. Yes there is a provision under Clause (2) of Article 13 for making laws by State in future. State shall make laws which are not in contravention to the provisions given under Part III of COI.

Q 4. What if any law made by State is in contravention of provisions of Part III of COI?
Ans. If any law made by State is in contravention of provisions of Part III of COI then it must deemed void to the extent of the contravention.

Q 5. What is meaning of Law under Article 13?
Ans. Under Article 13 "Law" means any Ordinance, order, bye-law, rule, regulation, notification, custom or usage having in the territory of India. (Sub-Clause (a) of Clause (3))

Q 6. What is meaning of "Law in force" under Article 13?
Ans. As per Article 13: “laws in force” includes laws passed or made by a Legislature or other competent authority in the territory of India before the commencement of this Constitution and not previously repealed, notwithstanding that any such law or any part thereof may not be then in operation either at all or in particular areas. (Sub-Clause (b) of Clause (3)).

Q 7. When Article 13 was amended?
Ans. Article 13 was amended in 1971 by Constitution (Twenty Fourth Amendment) Act, 1971.

Q 8. What provision inserted by 24th amendment of constitution in Article in 13?
Ans 24th Amendment of Constitution inserted Clause (4) in Article 13 which state that no provisions shall be applied to any amendment of Constitution under Article 368. This provision empowered the Parliament to amend the fundamental rights of the people of Bharat.

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Related Case Laws:

The State of Madras vs. Srimathi Champakam:

Facts of the case: An order (known as the Communal G. O.) issued by the Province of Madras regarding to admission of students to the Engineering and Medical Colleges of the State which states that seats should be filled in by the selection committee strictly on the following basis, i.e., out of every 14 seats, 6 were to be allotted to Non-Brahmin (Hindus), 2 to Backward Hindus, 2 to Brahmins, 2 to Harijans. 1 to Anglo-Indians and Indian Christians and 1 to Muslims.

The court held that the Communal G.O. constituted a violation of the fundamental right guaranteed to citizens of India by Art. 29 (2) of the Constitution, namely, that "no citizen shall be denied admission to any educational institution maintained by the State or receiving aid out of the State funds on grounds only of religion, race, caste, language or any of them” and was therefore void under Art. 13.



Short notes: First Amendment of the Constitution of India


Act: The Constitution (First Amendment) Act, 1951,

Year enacted in: 1951,

Moved by: Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India.

Presented in Parliament: on 10 May 1951

Enacted by Parliament: on 18 June 1951

Sixteen Stormy Days': Why India's rulers wanted to remove ...

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Changes:

(i) several changes to the Fundamental Rights provisions of the Indian constitution.

(ii) provided against abuse of freedom of speech and expression,

(iii) validation of zamindari abolition laws, and

(iv) clarified that the right to equality does not bar the enactment of laws which provide "special consideration" for weaker sections of society.

(v) set the precedent of amending the Constitution to overcome judicial judgements impeding fulfilment of the government's perceived responsibilities to particular policies and programmes.

Freedom of speech: in 1st amendment a provision was made limiting Article 19(1)(a) of Constitution of India against "abuse of freedom of speech and expression". This was based on the landmark judgment in "Romesh Thappar vs The State Of Madras" on 26 May 1950.

The Parliament of India noted that in other countries with written constitutions, freedom of speech and of the press is not regarded as debarring the State from punishing or preventing abuse of this freedom.

Freedom of trade: The right of citizens of India to practice any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade or business conferred by article 19(1)(g) is subject to reasonable restrictions which the laws of the State may impose "in the interests of general public".

Upholding land reforms: Though the provisions of clauses (4) and (6) of article 31 were enacted but the validity of agrarian reform measures passed by the State Legislatures had formed the subject-matter of dilatory litigation. The result of which the implementation of these important measures, affecting large numbers of people, had been held up.

A new article 31A was introduced with retrospective effect to uphold such measures for implementation of provisions of clauses (4) and (6) of article 31.

Another new article 31B was introduced to validate 13 enactments relating to zamindari abolition.

Equality

It is laid down in Article 46 as a Directive Principle of State Policy that the State should promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people and protect them from social injustice.

In order that any special provision that the State may make for the educational, economic or social advancement of any backward class of citizens may not be challenged on the ground of being discriminatory, article 15(3) was suitably amplified.

Jawaharlal Nehru encouraged the Parliament of India to pass the amendment in response to State of Madras v. Champakam Dorairajan, which went before the Madras High Court and then the Supreme Court of India. In that case, a Brahmin woman in Madras challenged the state's Communal General Order, which established caste quotas in government-supported medical and engineering schools, on the grounds that it denied her equality under the law; both courts had upheld her petition.

Certain amendments in respect of articles dealing with the convening and proroguing of the sessions of Parliament were also incorporated in the Act. So also a few minor amendments in respect of articles 341, 342, 372, and 376.


LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS USED IN COI


Art., arts. for Article, articles.
Cl., cls. ″ Clause, clauses.
C.O. ″ Constitution Order.
Ins. ″ Inserted.
P., pp. ″ Page, pages.
Pt. ″ Part.
Rep. ″ Repealed.
S., ss. ″ Section, sections.
Sch. ″ Schedule.
Subs. ″ Substituted.
w.e.f. ″ with effect from.

Tuesday 2 June 2020

Short Q and A: IT Act


Here are some short Q and A on IT Act and SPDI rules.

data privacy regime in India SPDI Rules
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Q. Which Act governs the rules for and laws for data protection in India?
Ans. The general data protection rules under the Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act) as well as various sector specific laws on data protection.

Q. Why right to privacy is not an absolute right?
Ans. The right to privacy is fundamental right of a citizen of India but it is subjected to some restrictions and has expressly recognised protecting national security, preventing and investigating crime, encouraging innovation and the spread of knowledge, and preventing the dissipation of social welfare benefits as certain legitimate aims of the State – as held in case of Puttaswami by Supreme Court.

Q. What is mean by SPDI Rules?
Ans. SPDI rules means The Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011.

Q. Under which section of which Act SPDI rules were issued?
Ans. Under Section 43A of Information Technology Act, 2000 (for short IT Act) SPDI rules were issued.

Q. What is Section 43A of IT Act?
Ans. Section 43A, relates to Compensation for Failure to Protect Data and enables the enactment of reasonable security practices and procedures for the protection of sensitive personal data.

Q. Which OECD guidelines were incorporated in SPDI rules?
Ans. The OECD guidelines incorporated in SPDI rules are collection limitation, purpose specification, use limitation and individual participation.

Q. To whom the SPDI rules are applicable?
Ans. The SPDI Rules apply only to corporate entities and leaves the government and government bodies outside its ambit.

Q. Which tribunal was to hear appeals under IT Act?
Ans. Cyber Appellate Tribunal (CyAT). But it has given it’s last order in 2011. There is absence of effective machinery for enforcement of law related to digital sector.


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Monday 1 June 2020

Theory of Basic Structure of Constitution

Basic Structure Doctrine: The Amendment of the Constitution
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Landmark Judgments: 

Shankari Prasad Case:

The question whether fundamental rights can be amended under Article 368 came for consideration in the Supreme Court in Shankari Prasad case. In this case validity of constitution (1st amendment) act, 1951 which inserted inter alia, articles 31-A and 31-B of the constitution was challenged. The amendment was challenged on the ground that it abridges the rights conferred by Part III and hence was void. The Supreme Court however rejected the above argument and held that power to amend including the fundamental rights is contained in Article 368 and the same view was taken by court in Sajjan Singh case.

Golak Nath Case:

In Golak Nath case, the validity of 17th Amendment which inserted certain acts in Ninth Schedule was again challenged. The Supreme Court ruled the parliament had no power to amend Part III of the constitution and overruled its earlier decision in Shankari Prasad and Sajjan Singh case. In order to remove difficulties created by the decision of SC in Golak Nath case parliament enacted the 24th Amendment act.

Kesavanand Bharati Case:

The Supreme Court recognized BASIC STRUCTURE concept for the first time in the historic Kesavananda Bharati case in 1973. Ever since the Supreme Court has been the interpreter of the Constitution and the arbiter of all amendments made by parliament. In this case validity of the 25th Amendment act was challenged along with the Twenty-fourth and Twenty-ninth Amendments. The court by majority overruled the Golak Nath case which denied parliament the power to amend fundamental rights of the citizens. The majority held that Article 368 even before the 24th Amendment contained the power as well as the procedure of amendment. The Supreme Court declared that Article 368 did not enable Parliament to alter the basic structure or framework of the Constitution and parliament could not use its amending powers under Article 368 to 'damage', 'emasculate', 'destroy', 'abrogate', 'change' or 'alter' the 'basic structure' or framework of the constitution. This decision is not just a landmark in the evolution of constitutional law, but a turning point in constitutional history.

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