Who Owns The Data: An In-Depth Analysis Of Indian Digital System
- IJLLR Journal
- Mar 5
- 2 min read
Ananya Tripathi, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru
ABSTRACT
“Data is the oil of the 21st century, but filters are required to prevent the toxic smoke it emits.”
Data ownership refers not only to the possession of data but also to legal title and rights over the possessed and procured data. Unlike non-digital property, the rights associated with digital assets are not clearly defined. Restraining the circulation of data in this digital world is impossible. More importantly, the most sensitive data is collected by the government, which gets processed by the private parties at various stages. Even statutory authorities like UIDAI seek private partnerships. An individual has no control and tracks over the data once it gets circulated. Numerous loopholes in the existing Indian laws loosen the bow on data fiduciaries and data principles, expediting illegitimate use and barter of data. This breaches individual privacy, which is pivotal to the dignified existence of a being. Apart from just individual privacy being compromised, it becomes highly threatful to national security as well. This article seeks to elucidate on ownership of different types of data in India, i.e., who owns what type of data, chalk out the loopholes present due to untraceability of data flow in the system, and discuss possible rectifications and alterations that could be made in the Indian legislations to regulate this treacherous barter. The particular focus is on the data collected, processed, and retained by the government and its agencies, which is highly personal and sensitive in nature. In the existing system, the government quickly gets leverage, and whereas it should be treated under the strict liability rule because of the high degree of trust it is subjected to by citizens. A thorough grasp of data ownership, interchange, and free flow in India is provided by the researcher's doctrinal and analytical investigations. Additionally, the study seeks to point out present errors, suggest potential fixes, and discover any potential faults in the system.
Keywords: Data Ownership, Digital-assets, Data fiduciaries, Data Principles, Individual-privacy, Government as a Data fiduciary
