New Delhi: Did you know that January 28 is celebrated as Data Privacy Day (DPD) globally? Yes, the day is aimed at sensitising individuals and raising awareness around privacy practices and principles.
Privacy is basically ensuring online safety for all individuals and the day seeks to spread awareness about the same. From privacy professionals to internet consumers, the onus of safeguarding privacy lies on every individual.
In 2007, the first international event was organised by the Council of Europe and it was called the European Data Protection Day. After it was globally adopted, the day became popular as Data Privacy Day.
What’s the relevance of Data Privacy Day?
We all understand the importance of the privacy of the data. However, in a fast-paced life, we somehow lose track of privacy. With companies sneaking in our data every moment, it becomes crucial for us to take charge of our privacy in the virtual world.
In the absence to safeguard privacy, you could end up being exploited along with facing criminal charges. Technology companies are already offering user-friendly privacy controls that can help you protect your data.
With the proliferation of instant messaging mobile applications, such as WhatsApp and Telegram, people have become cautious about protecting their data.
In order to quell such fears, these platforms have developed security features like end-to-end encryption to ensure that the exchange of information is not visible to anyone other than the two people involved in the particular conversation.
Should you care about privacy and data protection?
Data privacy has turned out to be one most discussed topics in a growing digitally connected world, especially at a time when people are forced to spend more time online.
The number of active internet users in the country is likely to grow nearly 45 percent to 900 million by 2025 compared to 622 million as of 2020, according to the IAMAI-Kantar Cube report.
With the number of data thefts, cybercrime cases on the rise over the last decade, there's a growing need for healthy privacy policies that users must follow. In failure to do so, you can be at risk for identity thefts, phishing scams, or more risks.
What about data protection in India?
India is yet to have a law protecting the personal data of citizens. It is among those few countries that do not have a data protection law enacted. Personal Data Protection Bill was in the Parliament in 2019 and referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC). After two long years, the JPC report was tabled in Parliament on 16 December 2021.