PARAGRAPH, WORDS AND MEANINGS
TOPIC OF THE DAY –
“Growing European influence” –
In contrast, the GDPR seems like as a modern, progressive text. The GDPR is in a lot of ways closer to our constitutional understanding of data protection as articulated by the Puttaswamy judgement last August, in which nine judges of the Supreme Court unanimously held privacy to be a pivot for our fundamental rights. So when the GDPR provides for an explicit consent-based mechanism and continuing control for users, it seems to be setting a legislative template for India. However, it is not as if there are no risks in parroting the European solution. When it provides a “strong law” for users, the GDPR also seems like a strong-arm law to trade and commerce. Two common business objections are made. The first cites a rise in costs that would impact users, in which a bureaucratic apparatus would require companies to pass on a data protection tax. Such an argument is clearly out of step with the realisation of recent months that leaving personal data unprotected erodes trust in technology.
The second objection concerns the wider, sectoral ambitions of India’s IT entrepreneurs who ideologise permission-less innovation. They argue that regulation will make them unable to compete globally. This is incorrect on several counts, beside being self-defeating. It ignores that privacy and data protection are inherent to the coming waves of innovation. Data protection will act as a regulatory springboard to the next generation of online products and services. This, in turn, will provide a cleaner, sustainable and rights-friendly alternative to the existing theology of treating data as a fossil fuel. If anything, “strong” data protection is beneficial for the long-term health of the technology sector by improving user trust and sectoral competitiveness.
If we hasten, we are sure to fall. Blind adoption of the GDPR would present immediate peril for several reasons. As an ambitious project, the text of the GDPR has tremendous breadth and is riddled with business exceptions which may provide porous sieves for personal data. While refinements may be incrementally made in Europe, we in India at the outset need to have foresight in adopting the drafting choices of a foreign, even if influential, text. For instance, two areas where concern arises are its impact on the right to free speech and expression and the right to information laws. A joint statement by two of the leading digital rights organisations, the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Article 19, have stated that in the context of the right to be forgotten, the GDPR “poses a significant risk of misuse to stifle free expression online”.
Much closer to home, there has been constant worry by activists defending the embattled Right to Information Act. Their prior experience makes them wary, as the judiciary has been frequently citing privacy to undermine government transparency. For instance, in Girish Deshpande v. Central Information Commissioner, the Supreme Court upheld an order denying access to the income tax returns of a public servant. Hence, every effort should be made that the motivation to correct the absence of a data protection law does not end up hurting individuals by making government opaque and unaccountable.
Synthesise carefully –
As India stands at a crossroads, it should chart its course picking up the best ideas and practices that promote user control over data. This requires adaptation from both the U.S. and the GDPR. Our challenges are extensive, and our interests diverse. Here virtue lies in the humility to learn from others and care to protect our residents. As a public policy goal, we should borrow freely but use such knowledge within legal regulation to enlarge individual liberty.
WORDS AND MEANINGS –
Pivot
Meaning: A person or thing that plays a central part in a situation or enterprise.
Example: “The pivot of community life was the chapel”
Synonyms: Centre, Focus
Template
Meaning: Something that serves as a model for others to copy.
Example: “The plant was to serve as the template for change throughout the company”
Parroting
Meaning: Repeat mechanically.
Example: “Encouraging students to parrot back information”
Synonyms: Repeat, Echo
Bureaucratic
Meaning: Relating to a system of government in which most of the important decisions are taken by state officials rather than by elected representatives.
Example: “Well-established bureaucratic procedures”
Synonyms: Administrative, Official
Antonyms: Simple, Relaxed
Erodes
Meaning: Gradually destroy or be gradually destroyed.
Example: “This humiliation has eroded what confidence Jean has”
Synonyms: Abrade, Crumble
Springboard
Meaning: A thing that lends impetus or assistance to a particular action, enterprise, or development.
Example: “An economic plan that may be the springboard for recovery”
Theology
Meaning: The study of the nature of God and religious belief.
Example: “A theology degree”
Hasten
Meaning: Move or travel hurriedly.
Example: “We hastened back to Paris”
Synonyms: Hurry, Dash
Antonyms: Dawdle, Crawl
Peril
Meaning: Serious and immediate danger.
Example: “You could well place us both in peril”
Synonyms: Danger, Risk
Antonyms: Safety, Security
Tremendous
Meaning: Very great in amount, scale, or intensity.
Example: “Penny put in a tremendous amount of time”
Synonyms: Huge, Enormous
Antonyms: Tiny, Small
Riddled
Meaning: Full of something unwanted.
Example: An old sweater riddled with holes.
24) Sieves
Meaning: Examine in detail.
Example: “Lawyers had sieved through her contract”
Foresight
Meaning: The ability to predict what will happen or be needed in the future.
Example: “He had the foresight to check that his escape route was clear”
26) Stifle
Meaning: Prevent or constrain (an activity or idea).
Example: “High taxes were stifling private enterprise”
Synonyms: Constrain, Hinder
Embattled
Meaning: (Of a person) beset by problems or difficulties.
Example: “The worst may not be over for the embattled Chancellor”
Denying
Meaning: State that one refuses to admit the truth or existence of.
Example: “Both firms deny any responsibility for the tragedy”
Synonyms: Contradict, Repudiate
Antonyms: Confirm
End up
Meaning: To finally be in a particular place or situation.
Example: They’re travelling across Europe by train and are planning to end up in Moscow.
Humility
Meaning: The quality of having a modest or low view of one’s importance.
Example: “He needs the humility to accept that their way may be better”
Synonyms: Modesty, Meekness
Antonyms: Pride
