Consent In The Digital Age: Is The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 Sufficient To Protect Individual Autonomy?
Aaisha Abdul Samad Advani, KES’ Shri. Jayantilal Patel Law College.
ABSTRACT
Personal data has become a regular part of everyday life. People share their information when using social media, making online payments, accessing healthcare services or downloading mobile applications. Although these activities make life easier, users do not always know how their information will be stored, shared or used in the future. In many cases, accepting a privacy policy becomes a routine step rather than a decision made after considering the consequences.
The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP Act) seeks to address some of these concerns by setting out requirements for valid consent, recognising the withdrawal of consent and placing obligations on organisations that process personal data. However, the existence of these legal safeguards does not automatically mean that individuals have meaningful control over their information. Long privacy notices, limited alternatives and processing permitted without consent can make it difficult for people to exercise a genuine choice.
This article examines whether the consent framework under the DPDP Act provides adequate protection for individual autonomy. It also considers relevant judicial decisions, including Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India, which recognised privacy as a fundamental right, and Central Inland Water Transport Corporation Ltd. v. Brojo Nath Ganguly, which discussed unequal bargaining power in contractual relationships. Although these cases do not directly interpret the DPDP Act, they offer useful principles for examining privacy and the freedom to make decisions. The article argues that the Act establishes an important framework for data protection, but its ability to protect individual autonomy will depend on how its safeguards operate in practice.
Keywords: Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023; consent; individual autonomy; informational privacy; data protection; fundamental right to privacy; digital rights.
