Prevent misuse of data by private entities, SC tells government
The Supreme Court of India has expressed concern over private entities accessing sensitive government-held individual data, such as tax and employment records, without explicit consent. The court has directed the government to develop a policy framework to prevent such unauthorized commercial exploitation.
Why it matters
It addresses critical concerns regarding digital privacy and the security of sovereign data in an increasingly digitized economy.
NEW DELHI: Supreme Court Monday expressed concern about a commercial technological ecosystem which allegedly accesses, retrieves and verifies sensitive individual information on provident fund and income tax returns and told the Centre about the desirability of devising an antidote to the problem with the assistance of domain experts.Hearing a PIL by Piyush Sharma, a bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana noted the matter essentially fell within policy domain but termed private access to sovereign data - individual information given to govt under legislative mandate - and its commercial exploitation as worrisome.Petitioner said his personal inquiry into the issue had revealed that "upon merely furnishing PAN and UAN details to a private verification workflow, the petitioner received complete employment history corresponding the said identifiers. No OTP authentication was generated. No explicit consent was obtained.
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