Privacy in the Digital Economy

How the Indian Government Interprets the Fundamental Right to Informational Privacy

Abstract

The industrial and political aspects of today’s digital economy rely overwhelmingly on users exchanging their personal data for online services. Consequently, informational privacy has emerged as one of the many concerns that have garnered the attention of the Indian government.

A crucial shift occurred in 2017 when the Indian Supreme Court declared the ‘Right to Privacy’ as a fundamental right. Since then, the judgment has led to many policy interventions, including the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. However, as the Act’s clauses reveal, there are stark distinctions between the interpretations of the government and the judiciary on the Right to Privacy. In fact, bound by distinct institutional mandates and responsive to unique power asymmetries, different state authorities also interpret informational privacy in a variety of ways.

This paper presents a privacy-centred analysis of key policies and legislations affecting three stakeholder groups: workers and small businesses on platform-based marketplaces, online multimedia content creators, and digital consumers who view online content and participate in ecommerce activities. The comparative analysis further recognizes three distinct interpretations of informational privacy by government authorities and explores how policy interventions materialize these interpretations into reality.