Erasing Digital Footprints: A Comparative Analysis Of The Right To Erasure In The DPDP Act, 2023
- IJLLR Journal
- Oct 30, 2023
- 1 min read
Erasing Digital Footprints: A Comparative Analysis Of The Right To Erasure In The DPDP Act, 2023, And The GDPR
Harish Srinivasan, School of Excellence in Law, TNDALU
In the current digital landscape, in which information flows seamlessly and private information forms the cornerstone of modern interactions, the enactment of robust data protection legislation has become an urgent imperative. The Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023, emerges as India's reaction to the mounting issues surrounding collecting, processing, and using private information. Against this backdrop, this paper undertakes a comprehensive exploration of a pivotal element of the DPDP Act - specifically, the right to erasure - and its complex interaction with the right to life and personal liberty guaranteed by the Constitution.
The DPDP Act's genesis lies in the pressing want to set up a framework that safeguards people's rights over their personal data amidst an era of escalating digitization. Fuelled by mounting instances of data breaches, unauthorized profiling, and pervasive privacy infringements, the DPDP Act was enacted to reposition data subjects at the heart of data processing operations. Central to this paradigm shift is the right to erasure, which empowers people to demand the elimination of their personal data from digital repositories.
At its core, the right to erasure reflects the legislative reason to engender data autonomy, underscored by individuals' ability to decide the fate of their personal information. This paper scrutinizes the right to erasure, tracing its statutory underpinnings within the DPDP Act, delving into its realistic challenges, and ultimately assessing its harmonization with the sacrosanct right to life and liberty enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution.
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