In its zeal to aggregate data in electronic form and target subsidies better, the government cannot ignore its responsibility to protect citizens from the perils of the cyber era (“Five-judge statute Bench to decide on Aadhaar validity”, October 31). It is imperative that the Union government enact a privacy legislation that clearly defines the rights of citizens and one that is consistent with the provision of the Constitution. The government should factor in privacy risks and include procedures and systems to protect citizens’ information in any system of data collection. It should create institutional mechanisms such as a privacy commissioner to prevent unauthorised disclosure of or access to such data. Our national cyber cell should be made well capable of dealing with any cyber-attack in the shortest time. We need to educate people on the risks involved and highlight examples of ID theft and fraud. The government should recognise all dimensions of the right to privacy and address concerns about data safety, protection from unauthorised interception, surveillance, use of personal identifiers and bodily privacy. We need to take a level-headed approach and ensure that there are ample safeguards are put in place for data protection and privacy.
K.M.K. Murthy,
Secunderabad