Page 3 - English Tehelka Issue 7 - April 15, 2018

National Issue AD Pages 76:Layout 1 2/27/2012 10:23 PM Page 6

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excellence, like courage, can become a habitcex llence, like courra Editor’s Note
age, can bec me a habitoc

The big data leak: A wake up

call for India for a robust law

The recenT controversy com- share our thoughts and ideologies, to share personal
ing on the heels of the brouhaha tidings without realising that someone is keeping
over Aadhaar, about the data leak a hawk’s eye, watching, analysing our preferences,
by Cambridge Analytica, has set our personality traits and storing them all in a data
off a storm with allegations of bank for use by interested parties. Though Facebook’s
how some Indian political parties founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has tendered
had deployed this to tilt the elec- an apology, it is time to reframe laws to safeguard
tions in their favour. It is now proved personal data. Millions of people share data knowingly
that Cambridge Analytica used the data or unknowingly, unaware of the implications.
of 50 million Facebook users to feed strategies such Technology is evolving at a neck break speed leading
as ‘behavioural microtargeting’ and ‘psychographic to fear of data misuse. Individuals own their personal
messaging’. data and they have a right to know how and where
The union government has conveyed to Facebook governments, political parties or corporates are going
and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg its displeasure over to use that data. Whosoever controls data is obliged
attempts to interfere with elections in India. The BJP to protect it. All stake holders need to collaborate to
has accused the Congress of using the now-notorious bring a strong, robust law that is in conformity with the
Cambridge Analytica in elections and the Congress has European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation
hit back with the same charge. There are bound to be that will come into effect from May 25.
allegations and counter allegations with perhaps no The good news is that amidst a raging political battle
conclusive results. However, one thing is sure that in over data leak, former Law Minister Ashwani Kumar
the not-too-distant future, Artificial Intelligence would has met Prime Minister Narendra Modi to press for a
determine strategies and data concerning informa- standalone law on protection of privacy with latter
tion about individuals would be used as fodder. Some assuring him of intervention.
unethical tech-based bodies are busy in having their This big data leak is a big wake-up call for India.
hold over people’s lives as much as possible and the day
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wins ipi india ins iipi in iad
in real time.
Important data leaks can lead to serious damage to
awardwaawardwwawaawardwwa personal integrity. We use Facebook and other social (charanjit ahuja)
media platforms to connect with long lost friends, to

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fo o nd year inn a rro w
WeB circulation tEam Uma shankar tiwari,
Editor (digital mEdia) Yashica Jalhotra
Amit sharma, suraj singh
design teAM accounts deepika Rattan, pradeep sharma
Awarded for Excellence in Journalism 2011 by the India Chapter ofardwwa d ed fo r E x cellence in JournalisJ m 2011 b y thee Ind ia Chapter o f Editor Charanjit Ahuja* Vikram nongmaithem, Aditi Chahar, print E r & publish E r
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ExcEcutivE Editor Ridhima Malhotra Anangpal singh, Ajoy sen swinder Bajwa
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THE NAL PRESS INSSTITUTE PRESS INSSTITUTE associatE Editor Abdul Wasey pHoto seCtion printed & published by swinder Bajwa on behalf
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Volume 15, Issue no. 7, 1-15 apr Il 2018, released on 1 aprIl, number of pages including cover 68
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