For every lock, there is someone out there trying to pick it or break in. Information technology alone cannot provide us an absolute shield against its evil twin— disinformation technology. Our only protection is law. Information Technology Act was introduced in 2000 and it was the first technology related legislation in India. Thereafter, in 2008 the Act was substantially amended to include various offences and definitions. The technology is progressing at a very fast pace and the modus operandi of the perpetrator is ever-changing and evolving. Considering these factors, eight years is too long for amendment. If we consider the investigation and electronic evidence perspective, many changes are required to increase the conviction rate. Moreover, as per my observation India is a country where people don’t give that much importance to their personal information.
One can read in the news every day, how US, UK and EU emphasize on their data protection and privacy laws being well-established and stringent while in India we don’t even have a data protection and privacy regime in place or a separate legislation. United Kingdom is also on the verge of implementing their new ‘General Data Protection Regulation’.
We are yet again completing the eight years’ cycle and let’s hope for a comprehensive amendment soon. As far as developing countries go, we can draw some inspiration from China that has recently introduced new cyber security laws which emphasize on protecting privacy of its citizens.
