The Right To Privacy In The Age Of Artificial Intelligence: A Constitutional Analysis
- IJLLR Journal
- Aug 4
- 1 min read
Sai Ishwarya Siri, Woxsen University.
ABSTRACT
This paper aims to determine whether the Indian Constitution safeguards the right to privacy against the advances of artificial intelligence. Judicial recognition of the right to privacy in the Constitution through the landmark case Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India, 2017 has created challenges in addressing novel forms of surveillance and discrimination enabled by AI technologies such as facial recognition, predictive policing, biometric data, decision-making algorithms, and deepfakes. This paper applies a doctrinal, analytical, and comparative methodology to examine the evolution of the jurisprudence on the right to privacy from the cases of M.P. Sharma up to Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India, 2017. Furthermore, it analyzes the adequacy of the recently proposed Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 in light of the proportionality test and compares it to the risk-based approach of the EU\u2019s proposed legislation as well as the sectoral privacy framework in the US. The paper argues that despite the progressive interpretation of the Indian Constitution, legislative and enforcement practices leave much to be desired in terms of protecting individual privacy against AI encroachments. It concludes by suggesting the need for a comprehensive AI governance statute that would bridge the existing legal gaps and proposes a set of policy recommendations for consideration.
Keywords: Right to Privacy; Artificial Intelligence; Constitutional Law; Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023; Algorithmic Accountability.
