Data Privacy in India: The Information Technology Act

Abstract

India enacted the Information Technology Act, 2000 and added significant amendments in 2008. India does not have a unified data-protection law like the EU. Instead, like the United States, India's privacy laws are scattered among different statutes. But the ITA is the primary law concerning data protection because it addresses itself to electronic commerce. Even after the 2008 amendments, the overall status of data-protection and privacy law remains unclear. According to one commentator, “most of the rules and regulations of data security, as they exist in the American and European countries’ data protection Acts, have been incorporated in the revamped Information Technology Act of 2008.” But Indian attorney Shojan Jacob, upon reviewing the new 2008 amendments, concludes that its provisions are still “not adequate to meet the needs of the corporate India,” and others agree that India still lacks a comprehensive data-protection law.

This paper was written in 2010. I am considering making revisions and updates to reflect to amendments and court decisions.

Keywords: Business Process Outsourcing, BPO, Outsourcing, Offshoring, Offshore Outsourcing, India, Privacy, IT Act, data protection, remedies, cyber crime, hacking, intermediary liability, surveillance