The terms and conditions of the master service and non-disclosure agreements signed by the U.S.-based Sprinklr with the State government ensure that data of the COVID-19 patients as well as those under surveillance are secure and their rights to privacy protected, according to a statement filed by the State government in the High Court.

The government statement said the privacy policy of the company and the international data protection norms, including the General Data Protection Regulations, ensured a high level of confidence of the data.

The government said the platform made available by the company could handle large volumes of multi-channel data which would facilitate effective monitoring of those under home quarantine. In fact, none of the government institutions in the State were at present capable of doing big data analysis in a shortest possible time.

The statement said the choice of jurisdiction of New York courts was a standard form of contract of the company. The data resided in India and hence there would be no issues of jurisdiction. Even if any breach occurred outside India, prosecution could be initiated within India under Section 75 of the IT Act provided such breach impacted a computer or computer resource within the country.

The government pointed out that it was necessary to balance the public right life and health as against the right to privacy of individuals. No choice could be given to individuals in such exigencies when the right to health of society at large was at stake.

The statement was filed in response to a writ petition challenging the data sharing agreement signed with Sprinklr.