[ad_1]
It is said that the government will introduce a Revised version of the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill In the next Monsoon session of Parliament. This is an opportune moment for the government to consider further improvements to the bill. One of the provisions in An earlier copy of the bill Data portability in question, which enables users to ‘move’ or transfer their data across different platforms. The government should reinstate such a provision as well as introduce an interoperability clause. Interoperability enables users to escape the walled garden platforms from which the Internet has now isolated users.
Data portability and interoperability have many advantages. They will empower normal or digital users Citizens. Currently, online users are powerless when it comes to the scope and extent of their data being collected, stored and processed by data-hungry platforms. They have no choice but to subscribe to digital platforms that carelessly use their data, as evidenced by the recent series of breaches in India. This is because they rely on these platforms for essential services – everything from education to employment. These platforms have become choke points or gatekeepers that come between users and their friends, clients, components, etc. Therefore, users unfortunately agree to unilateral take-or-leave contracts that essentially empower the platforms with near-absolute power over their data.
With digital data portability Citizens They will be able to vote with their feet. They will not be at the mercy of powerful platforms, forced to suffer damage such as rampant surveillance. In fact, some of the ways users are being exploited by big data systems are horrific. Many small businesses, for example, sell their wares on large e-commerce platforms in hopes of increasing their income. Only to find that the same e-commerce platforms are leveraging the data they generate to launch competing products and undercut their own business.
Data portability will signal to platforms that they cannot continue to irresponsibly exploit their users’ data. These platforms will have to live up to the heading of “data fiduciaries” (entities acting in the interest of their users) assigned to them in the bill. This is because if they don’t, their users can easily transfer their data to a competing platform.
Moreover, users will not be the only beneficiaries of such a system for easy portability or data transfer. The emerging ecosystems of startups in India will also benefit. They will be able to overcome the barriers to entry that have been discouraging competition in the technology sector. This is because they will now have an effective presentation to attract users who are not satisfied with the existing platforms. Currently, users may be discouraged from moving to new platforms even if they wanted to because they would lose access to their existing data. But the promise of improved privacy and data security will work in a world of data portability because users can migrate to new services, get better treatment and still have access to their previously created data.
If the government introduces interoperability, the situation will be better for users and startups. Interoperability means that users will not only be able to transfer their data – they will take their data with them – but they will also stay connected to the original platform they were on and interact with the users of the platform they left behind. A Twitter user for example could leave a microblogging site with their data in tow to join a competing startup platform. Plus, thanks to the interoperability, she can continue to communicate with her Twitter contacts. The barriers that prevented her from moving will no longer restrict her.
Think about how email works today. You don’t need to have a Gmail account to send email to someone who has a Gmail account. vice versa. This is because email is interoperable. People can communicate with each other through the platforms. If interoperability was introduced, the rest of the Internet would look like email. People will be able to break through the walled gardens that currently prevent them from participating in cross-platform interaction.
Thus, the government should, in the spirit of user empowerment, consider bringing data portability and interoperability into the bill. Doing so will restrict existing technology platforms from misusing user data, empowering digital troublemakers and strengthening the startup ecosystem. The stakes are high given that the Internet is indispensable to modern life. Now is the time for the government to act, to strike the iron while it is hot.
The writer is Program Director, Center for Communication Governance at the National University of Law, Delhi.
[ad_2]
