THE BREAKOUT ZONEPUBLISHED SOME TIME AGO,Privacy 3.0 is three books
thoughtfully packaged into one. However, not much has been
written about it for a couple of reasons – the complex techno-
legal nature of the topic and the raging controversies over
data privacy issues, especially the ‘large-scale misuse’ of the
Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies,
Benefits and Services) Act, which ended up in the apex court.
The Supreme Court has upheld the validity of the Act since
but limited the scope of the biometric identity project to some
extent. Besides, the government has identified several data
loopholes and the Draft Personal Data Protection Bill will soon
be tabled in Parliament to address data privacy, safety and
security. Undoubtedly, this is the ideal time to peruse the book
as the author combines his deep understanding of the concept
and legal experience spanning more than two decades.
Rahul Matthan’s work traverses the anthropological
roots of privacy and its practical relevance in the digital-first
era. It does not stop there, though, and offers a way forward
to “unlocking our data-driven future”. This future (Privacy
3.0), in the author’s view, need not be as bleak as privacy
activists seem to fear. But to protect privacy and still ensure
free flow of data for individual and collective benefits, he
suggests a new legal framework. This expressly disavows
the current notice-and-choice model, where individuals
seemingly consent to the collection and use of their personal
information. The author’s alternative framework is based on
the principle of accountability that penalises data controllers
for any privacy breach, although it does not require them to
seek the consent of an individual before making use of the
data. Adopting this system will address “the data asymmetry”
that exists between companies/governments collecting and
using such data and individuals whose personal data is used.
This is a provocative suggestion. If individuals must
be protected from data breaches or use of their data for
purposes other than what they think they have signed up
for, companies need to be liable. However, dispensing with
consent altogether (because of its practical failings) to achieve
this goal may not be the right step. Consent forms may be
unclear, lengthy and written in difficult-to-understand
legalese. But there is always a potential solution to address
these issues. For example, give every website/and app a
privacy score for enabling users to understand how secure
their data is or allow people to consent after watching a short
video instead of expecting them to read a long form. Matthan128 IBUSINESS TODAYIAugust 11I 2019EX-LIBRIS
STRIKING THE RIGHT BALANCE BETWEEN DATA PRIVACY AND
DATA UTILISATION WILL ALWAYS BE A TIGHTROPE WALK.
By Arghya Sengupta
WITHOUT BIAS
PRIVACY 3.0: Unlocking Our
Data-Driven Future
BY RAHUL MATTHANPublisher: HARPERCOLLINS
Pages: 288
Price:` 599