Justice D Y Chandrachud at MS University, Baroda, on Saturday. (Express Photo: Bhupendra Rana)Technological advancements pose certain broad challenges to privacy, Supreme Court judge Justice D Y Chandrachud said Saturday. “Privacy is a complex and constantly evolving issue. Debates on privacy often concern the usage of our data by state and non-state actors. …The freedom to define ourselves on our own terms has been compromised by algorithms exposing our sensitive information to third parties for commercial interests. Concerns have been expressed over the unauthorised circulation of information,” he said.
“Technology has outpaced lawmakers. Governments have to rethink their approach towards the regulation of tech that intersects with the individual identity,” Justice Chandrachud, who gave a dissenting order in the Supreme Court’s Aadhaar judgment, said.
“The challenges I want to speak to you about are broadly two, challenges that arise from the text of our Constitution, and challenges arising from the changing nature of our society. The sheer length of the Constitution in itself is a challenge. Even 70 years after the Constitution was framed there are hidden gems, word and phrases which remain undefined and unexplored words,” Chandrachud said in his address to students of MS University, Baroda.
While the usage of, and change in, technology is increasing exponentially, social, economic, and legal systems are changing only incrementally, Justice Chandrachud said.
“The use of technology is exponentially increasing and technology is touching everyone, both state and non-state actors. The problem arises when the rate at which tech changes increases exponentially but social, economic, and legal systems change incrementally. Privacy concerns of an individual is at the heart of constitutional law debates,” he said.
Crediting the vision of Dr B R Ambedkar for Indians being free citizens of a free nation, Justice Chandrachud said: “Dr Ambedkar essentially realised when he was drafting the Constitution that a parallel movement was taking shape at the time of Independence. The first movement was for political freedom, for the transfer of power from the colonial regime to independent regime, and simultaneously there had to be a parallel movement for social transformation and his life, as it were, became an embodiment of the Constitution.”
