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enhance the reach and the actual effect of result of the pandemic. School closures
such government services. However, the have thrown the complexities of India’s
COVID situation covered below seems to digital divide into sharp relief Many
talk us out of this possibility. families don’t own a smartphone or have a
2.2 Covid-19: The Big Exposé single smartphone that a parent needs to
It is by no means a surprise that the take to work with them. And this is not
COVID-19 pandemic is terrible for low- just by the word of mouth, but many non-
income families who depend on daily profit organisations have reported it for
wages for survival. The lockdowns and the last two years. The renowned Azim
restrictions have forced these people to Premji Foundation in 2020 found that
starve and often face death. Among the almost 60 per cent of school children in
countless sufferers, the worst hit is India cannot access online learning
underprivileged kids who don’t have even opportunities.
the basics like food, shelter, healthcare,
protection, and education. Before we dive The proportion of students who cannot
into the digital disparity in terms of the access online learning is particularly high
internet, it is important to keep in mind among children from low-income and
the underlooked cases of kids who had low-caste families. This is a clear reflection
gone missing. Many of the of how e-selectivity does not only exist at
underprivileged kids of India didn’t have the level of fiscal federalism and
any means of communication, many of bureaucratic structures in India but even
them went missing, and the problem was has deeply inherent roots stemming from
never reported to the police. Means of our social institutions like family and
communication are still a rich caste-hierarchy. Some say the caste system
conversation to have. The starkest effect would have disappeared by now if the fires
that the pandemic had on the lives of were not regularly fanned by politicians.
children was the advent of online classes. At elections, many caste groups still vote as
While most of us had Wi-Fi connections, a block and are wooed by politicians
laptops, mobile phones, tablets, and looking for electoral gains.
headsets at our disposal, kids who were
already facing real-time issues in accessing As a result, what was originally meant to
basic resources like school textbooks, had be a temporary affirmative action plan to
to undergo the hit that mandated them to improve a lot of the unprivileged groups
be all tech-savvy- and privileged too. has now become a vote-grabbing exercise
Since the March of 2020, more than 550 for many politicians. When state and
million students in India have had their union elections linger around, their
learning disrupted by school closures as a fruitless promises of providing free
profit organisations technological benefits are either restricted
to a certain sub-section of the population
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or delayed fulfilment of these promises is Despite some hiccups, the Supreme Court
seen, more often than not, giving their and High Courts have been able to
opposition parties all the more reasons to function online. This was made possible
label their claims as “Jumla.” by the e-Courts project, monitored by the
Have mobile phones reached the children e-Committee.
who were promised with the hopes of However, the document goes on to
internet connectivity by Kanwar Pal in propose an “ecosystem approach” to justice
2020? His decision was, back then delivery. It suggests a “seamless exchange
detrimental to whether schools remained of information” between various branches
shut down until the July of that year. But of the State, such as between the judiciary,
now, the July of 2022 is barely five months the police and the prison systems through
away from us and all we have heard from the Interoperable Criminal Justice System
Haryana so far, in terms of their student (ICJS). It has been pointed out by
base, are regular cases of student exodus organisations such as the Criminal Justice
and intermittent opening and closing of and Police Accountability Project that the
schools and universities- very ICJS will likely exacerbate existing class
conveniently whooshing away a promise and caste inequalities that characterise the
once made just out of the blue. police and prison system. This is because
2.3 E-Justice and its Loopholes the exercise of data creation happens at
In popular perception, Indian courts are local police stations, which have
not associated first with the delivery of historically contributed to the
justice, but with long delays and criminalisation of entire communities
difficulties for ordinary litigants. How are through colonial-era laws such as the
they coping with this problem amidst the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871, by labelling
Covid-19 crisis? Well, The e-Committee such communities as “habitual offenders”.
of the Supreme Court of India recently Once any government department moves
released its draft vision document for online, their pen-and-paper registers will
Phase III of the e-Courts project. Phases I become excel sheets, shareable with a
and II dealt with the digitisation of the single click. Localised data will become
judiciary, i.e., e-filing, tracking cases centralised. Holdovers from the analogue
online, uploading judgments online, etc. age ought not to have an issue with this
Even though the job is not complete, process, since it can lead to great
particularly at the lower levels of the advancements in problem-solving.
judiciary, the project can so far be termed However, it is the next stage that is a cause
a success. This has been particularly so for concern even for the most vocal
during the COVID-19 pandemic when proponents of the digital age, which is
physical courts were forced to shut down. integration with other agencies.
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2.4 Gender, Education, and Digital-Divide becoming increasingly severe by the day,
UNESCO accepts the gender divide as there has been an almost total shift to
“one of the most significant inequalities to online modes of operation. However, this
be amplified by the digital revolution” has created a huge digital divide in the
(Primo, 2003). Chen and Wellman (2004) country, aggravating the already existing
found that gender is one of the important inequalities. To realise the dream of a
factors affecting access to and use of the digitally inclusive India, the internet has to
Internet; males are more likely than be provided as a public good and at
females both to access and use the Internet. subsidised rates for low-income
Bimber (2000) found that there is a households. (Devara, 2020) As a vaccine
significant gap between genders in terms quest by pharmaceutical companies has
of accessing and using the Internet and it been on an anticipated path with progress
exists because of differences between men but no end accelerated approval to yield
and women in socioeconomic status, political dividends is promised with
which affects Internet access and use. unfortunate vaccine nationalism has
Carveth and Kretchmer (2002) found that become a major concern (Sinha 2020).
gender is one of the significant predictors Specifically, education is shifting online all
of the digital divide in Western Europe. over the world. But in developing
Broos and Roe (2006) found also gender is countries like India, the internet is still not
one of the major factors structuring the an essential commodity for millions.
digital divide. The rate of Internet use of
males is higher than that of females. While Amidst all these dramatic ongoing
the rates of Internet use among males are phenomena, COVID-19, as we have seen
71%, it is only 29% among females. in the research, has emerged as a critical
This tendency has been strengthened by driver of digital transformation in India
the pandemic. Low-income households and the world. The necessity of online
and rural families, with their members: schooling during the pandemic and
phone ratio being 4:1 at most times, lockdown has thrown into relief the sharp
struggle to arrange internet connectivity at difference between the economic classes.
affordable rates, and even when they do, it Students in rural areas or other
is at the cost of compromising their girl underprivileged students do not have
children’s online education since male smartphones or internet connections to
preference is still a thing of the present in keep up with online learning like their
our country. city-dwelling peers.

3.0 Conclusion Concurrently, the societal divide has
deepened alarmingly, as physical distance,
With the effects of the pandemic the new lifestyle of work from home, and
aabcdefbcd digitalisation have become the new
abcdefgh
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normal. In a nutshell, data can be useful Demoussis, Michael, and Nicholas
when it provides anonymous, aggregated, Giannakopoulos. “Facets of the Digital
and statistical information about issues Divide in Europe: Determination and
without identifying the individuals. Extent of Internet Use.” Economics of
Amartya Sen, in his infamous work, Innovation and New Technology 15, no.
‘Equality of What’ might have postulated 3 (2006): 235–46.
that freedom is what equality finds its https://doi.org/10.1080/104385905002160
origin in. But with necessities of life being 16
unmet in trying times like these, what Goldfarb, Avi, and Jeffrey Prince.
demarcates freedom and equality, also “Internet Adoption and Usage Patterns
brings with it deprivation and injustice. Are Different: Implications for the Digital
Divide.” SSRN Electronic Journal, 2007.
References https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.882828

Broos, Agnetha, and Keith Roe. “The
Digital Divide in the Playstation
Generation: Self-Efficacy, Locus of
Control and ICT Adoption among
Adolescents.” Poetics 34, no. 4-5 (2006):
306–17.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poetic.2006.05.00
2

Carveth, Rod, and Susan B. Kretchmer.
“Policy Options to Combat the Digital
Divide in Western Europe.” Informing
Science: The International Journal of an
Emerging Transdiscipline 5 (2002): 115–
23. https://doi.org/10.28945/542

Chakraborty, Jayajit, and M. Martin
Bosman. “Measuring the Digital Divide in
the United States: Race, Income, and
Personal Computer Ownership.” The
Professional Geographer 57, no. 3 (2005):
395–410.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.00330124.2005.0
0486.x

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"Double Fuse" (2003), by the Kenyan artist Wangechi Mutu.
Mutu is known to play with dichotomies of biological/artificial,
human/machine, black/white, feminine/masculine, and Western/non-
Western as she teases out the boundaries between balance and disproportion,
beauty and deformation. In an interview with Barbara Kruger where Mutu
discusses the intersection of race, class and gender in society, she reflects:
“This structure is like any other matrix: It’s man-made. Once I realized
that, I also realized you can play with it; you can mentally play with the
freedoms you do have to transfigure yourself–you can embody something
different from what society claims and thinks you are.” Her hybrid and
cybernetic constructions of women parody the stereotyped native woman and
force viewers to challenge assumptions about race, gender, geography,
history, and beauty.

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Plato’s Noble Lie and Big Data:
Sophistry or Verity




Ashly Jiju
Department of Political Science, Lady Shri Ram College

Abstract 1.0 Introduction

Plato's noble lie, as described in The The world today is dominated by the
Republic, is a myth that is knowingly media. People are compelled to give up
spread by an elite as a tool to maintain their information to integrate with the rest
social harmony or advance an agenda. Noble of society using the internet. Being
lies are told by few and accepted by all, and digitised is not a choice but rather a
while this appears to be an impossibility if compulsion of modern humans. The
democratic ideals are to be realised, a predictions of the past that the hands of the
dangerous and ever-expanding combination media will control human lives have come
of these exist in the world today through big true. It foresees the complete surrender of
data. Using tools like data mining our personal information. We are trapped
governments and large corporations invade in an understanding that big data
data ownership, privacy and democratic collection is for our good. The lie that big
values as a whole. But even in writing when data is collected for our good can be
the exercise of big data is muddled with compared to Plato's noble lie, which is the
negative consequences, society is sold a lie of paper's theme.
the enrichment it brings into our lives. Thus
the question remains: Is big data a sophistry The paper can be broadly divided into two
or verity? sections. The first half of the paper
introduces the ideas of Plato's noble lie and
the idea of big data. The second half of the
paper deals with how big data is a noble lie
and its various implications. The paper
seeks to establish a relationship between
Plato's Kallipolis's noble lie and big data's
noble lie. The paper aims to identify
whether big data is sophistry or verity.

2.0 Plato’s Noble Lie

Plato’s theories in his book Republic are
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complete with complex and intriguing negative, is widely used and considered to
thoughts that have shaped the political be a necessity to survive. Plato classifies
philosophy of the world. One among these lying into two in Book 2 of the Republic:
is the idea of the noble lie. It is presented lies in speech, which is not a pure lie and
in book 3 of the Republic through the story can occasionally be used by the virtuous
of the myth of metals. It is among the most and non-ignorant and lies in the soul,
controversial among the discussions. The which is the real lie caused primarily due
story combines the Phoenician tale where to ignorance. However, lies in speech may
Cadmus sows the earth with dragons and be contagious. Here, the myth and the
Hesiod’s distinction of classes according to ruler's sole authority on being able to lie
metallic composition. Plato reuses this are brought forward. A larger question is
Cadmeian myth of autochthony and whether blatant lying, especially from a
Hesiodic myth of ages to derive a tale figure of authority, is permissible if there
unique to Athens. Myths exist to teach are no direct, immediate costs. In the noble
morals while simultaneously sharing lie, the idea given is jarring as it socially
human experience. Plato uses this means to immobilises a person to a significant extent
share his thoughts with a wider audience. and gives a section of society a higher
It can be argued that Plato places a value than the rest. It also propagates the
significant emphasis on knowledge idea that people are inherently the way
throughout his work. In this regard, he they are, lending more power to the
also stresses that to rule knowledge of the higher classes. While this can achieve
theory of knowledge is essential. For this temporary social harmony, if implemented
theory to be distributed, there are several in the long run may lead to the
ways. While some can be understood development of an atrocious caste system
through words, others need images given similar to that practised in India.
through pseudo-truths, such as the divided
line and the allegory of the cave. Various philosophers have differing views
Therefore, Plato’s noble lie serves the on this. Some take an extreme opinion on
purpose of teaching the masses something the topic, such as Kant, for whom lying is
that is not otherwise easily comprehended. always morally impermissible. For Popper,
The teaching is to believe that all of the Plato is racist and totalitarian in his ideas
city's people are brothers as they were and describes it as a fraud used to reconcile
born out of the same earth, and each has a people to their lot. He sees it as a lie that is
place in the society they must accept thus, not genuinely noble in its intent and
promoting social harmony. compares it with Quasi-Fascism or
Machiavellian thoughts.
3.0 Justification of lying
While describing ancient theory with
Lying is an action that, despite being modern theory is a stretch, the similarities
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do exist. R.H.S Crossman and Warner Fite then the king should not be given leeway.
see Plato as not noble and compare him to Sissela Bok argues for a similar idea. She
Hitler or Stalin as lying is propaganda. breaks down the Greek term for a noble
There are positive interpretations as well. lie, gennaion pseudos, and argues that the
D.E Hahm shows the underlying thought term 'gennaion' can be translated as well-
behind the lie as the ruler needs to have bred. It could signify people reared into a
more than their interest. They have to tell particular mentality, not from a humane
such lies for the larger goal of obedience, but an objectifying sense. She claims that
stability, care and fraternity. For Strauss, the perspective of the deceived must be
one of the biggest supporters of Plato, the taken into account; hence, altruism, no
noble lie is not much of a concern. In The matter the consequences, cannot be taken
City and Man, he claims that a good city for granted.
cannot exist without a fundamental
falsehood. It is actualised by blurring The criticisms are many, with the most
distinctions between nature and being its fundamental nature of
conventions through brotherhood and the manipulation. But, another more practical
conviction of the fundamental inequality concern is the impossibility of finding a
amongst the brothers. According to Seth king virtuous enough to rule. It makes the
Bernadette, it guarantees that the rulers idea even more dangerous as it gives room
will not gobble up the baser metals. to authoritarian or totalitarian leaders who
It is necessary to note the contrast between may not be wise but hold absolute control
what a modern political life consists of in primarily through deception.
comparison to ancient Greece. Today, the
dominant liberal ideas argue for a society These criticisms have not escaped Plato
characterised by debate, discussion, and are visible in his other work, the Laws.
conflict and reconciliation. This Rawlsian In Laws, a seemingly more mature Plato
society is corrupt, according to Plato. The envisions a different city, Magnesia. Plato
actual concern, as Julia Anna gives, is the abandons his assumption of the possibility
bothersome nature of the manipulation in of incorruptible rulers in this city. These
the noble lie. In Plato's Kallipolis, the ruler rulers cannot be given absolute power, so
is the one who has the authority to tell a system of accountability through checks
such a lie, as he is a philosopher-king with and balances and other democratic devices
expertise. However, knowledge does not must exist.
give one the authority to lie as we humans
intrinsically value the truth. It is such that Despite the change in thought, Magnesia
even the idea of a divine being lying is is a more optimistic design, with virtue
repulsive. If it is not permissible for God, being a quality that is not just reserved for
abcd the few. Ryan Balot describes Magnesia as
a community of the virtuous. But, in this
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description, there is no mention of a noble volatility and value.
lie. It can be identified as accepting the First, variety indicates a diverse range of
dangerous congruence between noble lies data. Second, veracity indicates the quality
and a democratic setup, which can lead to and reliability of the data. Third, validity
the latter's destruction. In a democracy refers to the selection of appropriate data
with transparency and accountability, a lie that is context-specific. Fourth, volatility
is not sustainable even by the rulers. Noble refers to the data's availability, accessibility
lie given by few and accepted by all is and re-interpretability despite
possible only in a scenario where few hold technological changes. Lastly, value refers
ultimate power, and there is the to the significance attributed by big data-
underlying belief of their superiority as dependent on use and given
given in the myth of metals. Though this circumstances. Big data is not just a lot of
seems to be an impossibility if the data. Its epistemic power lies in its capacity
democratic ideals need to be fulfilled, a to bridge between different research
dangerous and ever-expanding communities, methodological approaches
combination of this exists in the world and theoretical frameworks that are
today through big data. difficult to link due to conceptual
fragmentation, social barriers and technical
4.0 Big Data difficulties (Leonelli, 2019).
Governments have traditionally used it to
Big data refers to large sets of data collect information about the people living
collected from multiple sources from in the country for the prevention of crime
which new observations, measurements, and terrorism, providing services to the
predictions, and actions are taken. There people and policy measures. With
are various ways to define big data. While growing digitisation, the use of big data in
some understand big data as the capacity the private sector is increasing, with the
to search, aggregate, and cross-reference information collected being traded and
large datasets (Crawford, 2012), others used for marketing. It is primarily done
focus on the ability to interrogate and through data mining, in which various
interrelate diverse types of data, to be able techniques are used to extract intelligence
to consult them as a single body of from vast sources of digital information (S
evidence (O’Malley and Soyer, 2012). Rubinstein).
Big data has two significant features For the governments, data mining is
namely volume and velocity. Volume claimed to be a valuable tool to collect and
refers to the amount of data available, go through large sets of data from which a
while velocity refers to the speed with possible terrorist activity or signature can
which data is generated. Other essential be 51
features include variety, veracity, validity,
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be detected. It is needed as it is challenging government reports is collected through
to identify such activity as their actions do local authorities and health data is collected
not drastically differ from that of ordinary directly or through hospitals, most data
citizens. Another aspect is policy today is collected through digital
formulation and, most recently, health. platforms. Several methods can be used,
Several countries have rolled out national but the most common is cookies. Formally
identification and healthcare systems that known as HTTP Cookie, it is a data
compile all the citizens' information. collection received by a device that is sent
Governments do object-based and back without alteration. It helps keep track
pattern-based searches. The former is a of the user's activity, helping companies
targeted search, while the latter is based on that need people's information to track
a few factors. In many respects, the latter them easily. Though previously limited to
violates several laws given to the people. the websites, it has expanded its scope
Richard Posner opines that data mining is across applications and emails, among
just a computer sitting through data and others. It is favourable for those who seek a
does not cause any harm. more personalised browsing time. As Eric
The information provided in the private Schmidt, the previous CEO of Google,
and public sectors has helped bring said, "The goal is to enable Google users
significant changes. It is evident in the to ask questions such as 'What shall I do
health sector that the new data has enabled tomorrow?' and 'What job shall I take?".
researchers to be exposed to a data set that
was unavailable earlier, making studies on The internet, the primary hub for
various current and future health issues collecting big data, is seemingly free to
possible. It is also used by authorities and use. Besides the charges paid to the
NGOs to identify people who most need internet provider, the access and usage of
resources or services. This data is then used most websites do not incur any cost. The
to bring material changes to the people, services are not for free as the currency is
such as building a hospital or a cylinder an individual's data. It can be broken
delivery station in the remote villages of a down into several models. The first is the
country. Another example is the data as a payment model, where the user's
integration of traffic, human behaviour, personal information is exchanged with
and environmental and geographical other companies wanting to advertise. The
conditions data to produce safety measures second model is the freemium model,
for driverless vehicles, where data can be where revenue is not just from
used to generate an appropriate response advertisement but payments made by users
in an emergency. to access upgraded versions. The third is
While official data required by the the pay-for-privacy model, in which
abcdefgh privacy is considered a luxury for which
money must be paid. The last model is the
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personal data economy model, where users knowledge make the justification
control their data and can choose the questionable.
information they want to share. Data mining is the most common method
With the understanding of these models by which data is collected. Though it is
that collect, store, sell and use for claimed to be used to collect information
secondary purposes and the awareness of against terrorist activities, critiques such as
the information we have given online, Brue Schneier are sceptical as searching for
doubts arise. Is big data solely the positive a terrorist is similar to looking for a needle
system used by the governments and in a haystack and pattern-based search
corporations to enhance our experience, or only enlarges the haystack. On the other
is there something beneath that is being hand, companies claim that the data
missed by most people. collected are used to improve the customer
experience when in reality, the entire
5.0 The Noble Lie of Big Data online information of a user is tracked,
collected and stored or further used. A
An ideal government is a stable user’s location, browser and search history,
democracy, requiring a shared identity and whom and what they like, songs and
political culture. Like now, Plato identified videos seen, purchase history, reviews and
people as brothers from the same earth, blog posts are all available. These can
breeding their fraternity. For a demos to quickly help determine a person's location,
exist, there needs to be some form of income and health status. The revelations
collective identity. For the existence of made by Edward Snowden in 2013 on the
such an identity, a strong communication large amount of data collected and people
network is essential. Such communication surveyed by the U.S government is an
leads to the transmission, understanding, example of government misuse. The
judgement and acceptance of the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica Data
information and thus creating a feeling of Scandal, where information of 87 million
commonness. users was collected and used without their
Today this common ground can be found knowledge for the 2016 presidential
on the internet. It is entertaining, campaigns, is an example of corporate
educational and controversial content is a misuse.
platform that unites people of a nation and The tracking of these companies and
across the world. While big data is based governments is not limited to those who
on the premise that its collection is food use the services they provide but to any
for the betterment of society, the extent to activity done online where companies like
which it is collected, the agents involved, Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Twitter
and the uses it is put into without the user's track the browsing and app usage history
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of everybody. This data surveillance feeds in the myth of metals, where people
into the idea of the noble lie that the ruler naturally occupy social positions without
knows what is best for the people, with freedom of movement and hence their
governments and corporations acting as continuous repression of the upper class
the modern-day rulers, doing what is through a lie.
suitable for the public, which may have
negative consequences. 6.0 Need for Privacy

Besides being tracked, the information Despite popular belief that people do not
collected can travel into various areas of give much thought to privacy, it is
everyday life, not just political or ethical significantly valued. Ian Carter (2011) has
concerns. The most explicit among these argued that there is one area where all
is differential pricing. With the humans are the same. He believes that we
information available, sellers try to predict all are interested in being able to conceal
buyers' responses to different prices. The or cover up certain aspects of ourselves to
practice of steering, which shows different maintain outward dignity. Hence, we all
prices to customers in different groups and desire to be treated as equals, a feeling
personalised pricing created by referred to as evaluative abstinence. It can
behavioural targeting, is also used. Loyalty be seen in our surroundings as a person's
programs are the earliest example of this, character changes depending on the
as the company can record all the situation and with whom they interact.
purchases and market the products While interacting with friends' people
accordingly. The consequences include have a relaxed, open attitude. However,
employment, income, gender, while interacting in a formal situation or
weaponization, privacy, bias, access, with strangers, people project a specific
machine ethics, social capital, and service image of themselves and do not reveal
provision. The biggest threat is for the their thoughts explicitly. It shows humans'
marginalised groups. To receive the basic desire to keep certain aspects of their
benefits that governments or other life with themselves. Therefore, this
organisations give, they need to share approach is maintained while interacting
more personal information, which can with a new person, giving the person an
impact them negatively. They are also ‘opacity respect’ in most cases. It is an
under constant surveillance by the understanding that each will keep certain
authorities. The statistical models information about themselves and are thus
generated can group them into racial, equal. This idea of equality is disturbed by
ethnic, religious, or gendered groups and dataveillance as the information of a
can be discriminated against from the person, more than what they might
other historically well-off groups. Such a display on their public profile, is available
situation can be compared to the noble lie for companies to sell and governments to
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monitor. Compared to the noble lie, the same person who was okay with a
lack of equality and determination of the company's policy today might want to
life choices of a person by the ruler violates oppose it tomorrow, they might find
these values. themselves targeted by the very ideas they
supported. The level of freedom available
7.0 Need to Hide in a country can be identified through
how it treats its dissidents.
A standard narrative propagated
particularly by the government and major In the noble lie, this corresponds to the
corporations is that one does not need to idea that good citizens would give their
be afraid or worried about the collection obedience to the ruler and his orders. This
of big data as it will trouble only the obedience might harm the people as they
people who are harmful to the society, would be unable to raise questions on the
such as terrorists and violent criminals. matters that threaten them.
Those who have no reason to hide
something should not bother about their Hiding is necessary as it helps maintain
privacy. Others, such as Mark Zuckerberg, our human dignity, with one of the main
CEO of Facebook, also claim that privacy components of dignity being the ability to
is no longer the social norm. Such feelings retain agency over oneself. How outward
are echoed by several people in this age of dignity is released will depend on social
social media rage, but in reality, the very norms, but it will always be able to
people who propagate such claims conceal elements of oneself or one's
significantly value their privacy. activities (Carter, 2011; Nagel, 1998).
According to Glenn Greenwald, the
reason for this craving for privacy is that 8.0 Ownership of Data
when we are in a state of being monitored,
our behaviour changes dramatically. The Personal data can be defined as the data
behaviour is conformist and compliant, that relates to or can be used to identify a
with the decisions not being the by- person. It is often assumed that personal
products of their agency but other or data is owned by the person to whom it
societal orthodoxy’s mandate. relates. Though this might seem
Those who accept that governments target instinctive, it is not as easily defined.
only the criminals need to redefine their Ownership is necessary. According to
understanding, as the definition of a C.B. Macpherson, ownership is a right to
criminal can change with the changing dispose of or alienate as well as to use,
times or governments. If the same person which is not conditional on the owner’s
who was content with the government performance of social function
today wants to dissent tomorrow, or if the (Macpherson, 2014). Jeremy Waldron
abc defines ownership as ‘how, by whom, and
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on what terms the resource is to be used. people unless they sell it to the companies.
An object is mine if it is for me rather than Correlating this with other ideas is
for anyone else to say what is to be done discriminatory as it prevents the majority
with it’ (Waldron, 1991). of humankind from owning what is most
The critical elements of several definitions intrinsic to them. In the noble lie, the idea
have the common occurrence of a sense of that people come from the same earth but
control and security. Ownership can be are unequal due to the decisions of a few
intrinsic, that is, natural or acquired as it is prevails. Similarly, data is available to all
gained through a lifetime. Most people but owned by a few, giving justifications
view ownership of personal data as that essentially put dust in the eyes of the
intrinsic and necessary, but this can be general public. People need the right to
contested. Personal data is correlated with use and dispose of their data as and when
the idea that it is similar to the ownership they require it. There also needs to be a
of one's body. This claim, though true, is shift to the responsibilities of the parties
not absolute as one does not have the right controlling it, which can be easily
to the destruction of their body. Stephen implemented and monitored.
Munzer gives this challenge. One only has
a certain property right over it. It can be 9.0 Privacy Problems
understood with the example of buying a
famous painting. The buyer owns the Apart from the social and economic issues
painting but cannot destroy it as it does that continue the propagation of
not belong solely to the buyer due to its discrimination and differing payments,
greater artistic value. privacy problems can be identified in
On the other hand, the personal data of a several steps. Solove has developed a
person is undeniably their own, without taxonomy for this. The taxonomy has four
which their entire identity can be stripped. main points followed by sub-points. The
The companies that collect the personal main points are information collection,
data of individuals sell them at fixed prices information processing, information
and earn large sums of money. For dissemination and invasion. The first
example, Facebook earned $108.6 billion section is divided into surveillance and
overall in 2018 from targeted interrogation. The second is divided into
advertisements. If the companies have the aggregation, identification, insecurity,
freedom to use and sell the data from the secondary use and exclusion. The third is
individuals, then there exists ownership, as divided into the breach of confidentiality,
without owning something, it is not disclosure, exposure, increased
possible to sell. With this logic, the accessibility, blackmail, appropriation and
ownership of this data must belong to the distortion. The last is divided into
abcd intrusion and decisional interference.
Governments and companies use these
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today to varying degrees, violating the key 10.0 The Wiser Party
areas that must be protected for our
individuality. What makes this more The debate that often comes around is on
astounding is that this is done at a large who is wiser, the state, corporations, or the
scale with everyone who uses the internet. people? It directly relates to the idea of the
Over time it creates an extensive collection noble lie according to which the ruler is
of personal data that maps our entire lives wise and knowledgeable; therefore, all
and will be able to predict personal choices must follow what he says without a doubt.
such as the place we want to live, whom Examples of this can also be found in the
we want to marry and our job preferences. world of big data. A simple example is
It may not seem to be much of a problem. demonstrated by the research conducted
However, today's children who have been by Milkman et al. in 2009. They thought,
exposed to the internet even before birth what people claim they want to watch
face the danger of their entire life being differs significantly from the content they
saved without their consent as one consume. Their work proved it. While
collective data that can target them in people say they want to watch
visible and invisible ways throughout their documentaries or critically well-rated
lifetimes. movies, they might finally watch a light-
The risk it possesses is immense. Access to hearted or romantic comedy instead.
the health record of a family can be sold by People might be aware of this fact or
the hospitals or applications to insurance dimly aware of it, but the fact that they are
providers and employers. The existence of not the best judges of their actions
an illness in the family can prevent the remains. If given large enough data, as
family members from receiving insurance, anticipated over the coming decades, a
and employers could be unwilling to person who analyses or possesses this data
employ them, all while receiving constant could judge common people's interests
advertisements. Similar examples include better. It can elevate them to the position
women receiving childcare advertisements of the ruler in Kallipolis, whose wisdom
after miscarriages and the elderly receiving and authority remain unchallenged. It is
advertisements about funeral services. It visible in the idea that a platform knows
also creates psychological troubles for best what to do with the data available at
people trying to overcome difficult its disposal.
situations, and the ever-important role of While this is true to an extent, the opposite
the internet makes it necessary that they can also work easily. Plato is infamous for
cannot escape. In comparison to the noble his design of democracy, with his main
lie, the state dictating what is best for the reasoning being that the rulers must have
people is similar. expertise, knowledge and wisdom. Sir
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Francis Galton had similar thoughts and citizens must be cancelled. Thus, people
went to test them for himself through a are wiser. The acknowledgement of their
simple experiment. He asked the public to wisdom must be given by returning their
place bets on the estimated weight of an data rights owned by others with the claim
ox at a country fair. His hypothesis of superiority.
predicted an inaccurate estimate, but the
results of over 787 responses were 0.8 per 11.0 The Demise of Democracy
cent of the actual weight (Galton, 1907). It
shows the intriguing epistemic value of For the Athenians, the public space was
collective decision-making (Kinkead and the agora, the marketplace. Here, only
Douglas, 2020). Though it is true that one-to-one communication was possible
people are overcome by biases and might and could reach only a few people. A
not make rational decisions, their decisions standard message could be shouted, but
do hold value. This value cannot be individual messages were difficult. The
ignored. Plato himself, despite his earlier speaker and the audience also additionally
assertion, places greater weight on the knew each other. Later, with the
opinions of people in his later work. development of the printing press, it was
Adding to that is the rare occurrence of a possible to share information with a large
superior and incorruptible ruler. number of people and anonymity was
Therefore, in most situations, the people's introduced. But it still could not specify
decisions as a collective hold more value messages as the printed data was open for
and truth than those of a few rulers. all to read. It was not easy to target one
People listen to one another during belief without alienating the others. In both
formation and invest one another's these cases, making false claims also came
responses with potential importance (Pettit with the additional risk of losing
and Smith, 1996). It shows that people also reputation and credibility if false
engage amongst themselves to seek better information is passed as it could easily be
knowledge and opinions. In this compared and contrasted.
interaction, as discussed before, an opaque
exterior is presented, which acknowledges The internet and big data have
the privacy of the other. It must be fundamentally altered the nature of
respected by the state and corporations as political communication that has been the
well. Presumptive authority is also at stake norm for ages. Message targeting through
in the relationship between citizens and big data allows for content that is made
the state (Fox, 2020). Citizens having specifically for an individual to reach them
authority over their own lives is what the and corrupt their opinions and beliefs. At a
state's position must be to a large extent. large scale, this can become key to
Anything that violates this to look into the changing people's opinions, altering the
abcd nature of the political processes. The
content can be distributed globally
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without the earlier physical constraints or based on the idea that people hear several
the fear that the different information ideas and make decisions and discuss them,
would be leaked. The message is created but with micro-targeting, that is not
by analysing the daily habits of individuals happening (Wong, 2018). With the
through any means that connect the erasure of principles of equality, debate
internet, such as browsing, social media, and the noble lie, the information is
maps and calendars, among others, that reaching all, and the future of democracy
identify the biases and vulnerabilities of a is doubtful. In comparison to Plato’s ideas,
person and with that enable the companies it is notable that the noble lie is not seen in
or political contestants to create a message Magnesia which is more democratic. He
that triggers an individual. People choose seems to imply that the idea of lying to the
to not believe in merits but in what is easy masses and ruling over them is not possible
to believe and how good it makes them in a democratic setup as it undermines
feel (Frederick, 2005). It is seen with even that value. Hence, big data can also
people occupying different online echo shatter the foundation of liberal political
chambers due to homophily where similar structures.
people group, continuing to reinforce
each other’s views. It also blinds them 12.0 Digital Panopticon
from the views beyond their closed circle,
leading to massive political divides and, in The first modern use of the panopticon
many cases, the propagation of fake news. model by Jeremy Bentham showed that
The lack of accountability by the when it is challenging to control
companies or governments themselves or everybody in a large setup, a prison-like
that imposed legally helps to further this as system can be created where one is always
the corporations, in particular, profit- under the assumption of being watched by
seeking entities promote the content that an authority. It can be called mass
gets them the most engagement and not surveillance. As discussed earlier, human
necessarily the accurate content. beings change their behaviour when they
Controversy and stories that blend into know they are being watched, and such
what people of a particular demographic surveillance can create a prison in the
want to hear have more value than reality. minds of the people they would be unable
Despite claims by various on controlling to break free from. The extent is depicted
fake news, its prevalence is open to all, in the book 1984 by George Orwell,
with it being only a search away from any where people are not being watched at all
search engine. times but can be at any moment.
This dark advertising rattles the
fundamental nature of a robust democracy The most commonly used modern
abc surveillance method is through the
internet; in theory, this can be used to turn
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the world into a digital panopticon. on their own in controlling the extent data
Examples of this can already be seen, such can be taken from them. There are several
as a 2015 campaign in Hong Kong called methods by which at least some
Face of Litter organised by Ecozine and information can be masked, but
Nature Conservatory for Hong Kong individuals seem to ignore this. It can be
Cleanup Initiative. The campaign publicly due to the poor ease of use, ignorance and
shamed people who littered the street with lack of concern or understanding of the
their AI-generated pictures on billboards consequences of data theft. It further leads
across the city. The people's DNA was to the services that provide people with
obtained from the trash they threw, which safety tools being unprofitable, making it
was entered into a system that identified an area rarely invested in. Another
their personal information. The AI used concern can be the weak protection
this to generate computerised three- offered by several services that make data
dimensional images of people and shame more susceptible to attacks. To have a
them for not properly disposing of trash. A more remarkable change, it must come
social credit system is also another example from the governmental level. Laws that
of such surveillance. give people the right to their data and
minimise the data accessible to companies
A society that is under surveillance will and governments must be enacted. There
breed totalitarian rulers who have absolute needs to be an emphasis on the
control over every aspect of the citizens' accountability of the corporations that use
lives. However, the greatest threat is the people's data. There is also a need for
breeding a society that is obedient and increased transparency on existing and
conformist. It removes the ability to upcoming usages of data, including areas
dissent while curbing an individual's such as creating smart cities.
creativity, expression and exploration. As
Rosa Luxemburg says, “he who does not But changes that need to be brought about
move does not notice his chains.” The institutionally take time while technology
ever-increasing role of data in our lives continues to develop rapidly, making the
combined with our increasing lack of laws ineffective by the time of their
control over it can lead to a future of mass enactment. It is incredibly challenging as
surveillance, whether we acknowledge it this must all be in an environment of
or not. The noble lie of using data for public-private partnership that protects
welfare can quickly change into a control personal freedoms, organisational integrity
that extracts from all and benefits only a and private revenue (Motupalli, 2017).
few. However, just as the base in the Kallipolis
lies in the people's ability to understand
13.0 Protection of Privacy they are subdued, the importance of data
matters most in this age of big data.
In the present circumstance, individuals are
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14.0 Conclusion De Busser, Els, Erica J. Briscoe, Benjamin
C. Dean, Tatiana Tropina, and Miren B.
Big data is consuming the world around Aparicio. “Big Data: The Conflict
us, and we are a part of this as well. The Between Protecting Privacy and Securing
noble lie of Plato, in its true sense, is Nations.” Big Data: A Twenty-First
relevant even today in understanding how Century Arms Race. Atlantic Council,
the governments and corporations of the 2017.
world conveniently lie to the masses and
hide behind the possible real implications Greer, Scott L. “Devolution and Health:
of this ever-growing area. Therefore, this Data and Democracy.” BMJ: British
is sophistry and not verity. The pandemic Medical Journal 348 (2014).
has also brought out several areas where
data is insufficient without human Harden, Ian, and Norman Lewis. “The
understanding and has increased the risk of Noble Lie: A Rejoinder.” The Modern
exposure of people who otherwise did not Law Review 51, no. 6 (1988): 812–16.
use the medium.
The only way to systematically curtail a Hogan, Mél, and Tamara Shepherd.
possible dystopian future is to come “Information Ownership and Materiality
together with an international in an Age of Big Data Surveillance.”
understanding and prepare a global law on Journal of Information Policy 5 (2015): 6–
data protection. That alone can help 31.
prevent the misuse of various loopholes in
the laws that exist in each country and can Macnish, Kevin, and Jai Galliott. 2020. Big
help combat the lack of laws across the Data and Democracy. Edinburgh
world. University Press.
The research faced several limitations, such
as time constraints and lack of exposure to Motupalli, Venkat. “How Big Data is
resources beyond what is available online. Changing Democracy.” Journal of
Further areas of study can dwell into the International Affairs 71, no. 1 (2017): 71–
legal specifications on constructing a data 80.
law and understanding Magnesia's lack of
noble lies. Phelps, Joseph, Glen Nowak, and
Elizabeth Ferrell. “Privacy Concerns and
References Consumer Willingness to Provide
Personal Information.” Journal of Public
Aughey, Arthur. “The ‘Noble Lie’ of Policy & Marketing 19, no. 1 (2000): 27–
Politics.” Fortnight, no. 397 (2001): 14–15. 41.

Pozen, David E. “Privacy-Privacy Trade-
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offs.” The University of Chicago Law
Review 83, no. 1 (2016): 221–47.
R. D. Lakin. “Plato: His Defenders and
Detractors.” The Antioch Review 22, no.
4 (1962): 496–512.
Rubinstein, Ira S., Ronald D. Lee, and Paul
M. Schwartz. “Data Mining and Internet
Profiling: Emerging Regulatory and
Technological Approaches.” The
University of Chicago Law Review 75,
no. 1 (2008): 261–85.
Schwartz, Paul M. “Property, Privacy, and
Personal Data.” Harvard Law Review 117,
no. 7 (2004): 2056–2128.
Turley, Jonathan. “The Not-so-Noble Lie:
The Non-incorporation of State
Consensual Surveillance Standards in
Federal Court.” The Journal of Criminal
Law and Criminology (1973-) 79, no. 1
(1988): 66–134.
Williams, David Lay. “Plato’s Noble Lie:
From Kallipolis to Magnesia.” History of
Political Thought, no. 3 (2013): 363–92.

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Futureworld - 1976
An American science fiction thriller film directed by Richard T. Heffron and written by

Mayo Simon and George Schenck.

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Technology and Human Rights
Analysis of Data Protection laws, Right to Privacy

and State Surveillance in the Indian Context
Ayushi Singh, Ishika Chaudhary & Siddhima Sirohi
Department of Political Science, Lady Shri Ram College

Abstract 1.0 Introduction

Through this research paper, the authors Through this research paper, the authors
have tried to understand the dilemmas that have tried to understand the dilemmas that
lie at the intersection of Technology and lie at the intersection of Technology and
Human Rights, using both primary and Human Rights, using both primary and
secondary data. They seek to examine the secondary data. They seek to examine the
use of AI interpretation in the age of facial use of AI interpretation in the age of facial
recognition technology and its consequences, recognition technology and its
the role of the private sector in collaborating consequences, the role of the private sector
with the public sector to protect human in collaborating with the public sector to
rights, and the implications for protect human rights, and the implications
accountability, particularly in a democracy for accountability, particularly in a
such as India, which recognises privacy as a democracy such as India, which recognises
Fundamental Right. privacy as a Fundamental Right.
Through the case study of Delhi, the
authors have looked at the dynamics of
policing and the increased deployment of
CCTVs in the city with state surveillance
being a pertinent issue. Understanding
that the dichotomy of the personal and
private requires close study of all
stakeholders, a primary research using
google forms was undertaken wherein 50
respondents were asked to answer both
MCQ and long answer questions on a
range of themes related to Data
Protection, Privacy and Human Rights.
This was substantiated with interviews of
lawyers, police officers, non governmental
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organisations and government officials to the period 2015-2020, only 66% nations
better understand the nitigrities of the have attempted to safeguard people’s data
topic from a professional lens. and privacy.

This paper is divided into nine parts : First 2.1 Indian Jurisprudence on Right to
part of the paper deals with Privacy and Privacy
data protection laws in India, second part Article 21 of the Indian Constitution does
discusses the state of cyber crime in India not specifically recognize ‘right to privacy’
and the linkage between cyber security as an extension of personal liberty, a
and human rights, third part analyses the question that has been raised before the
state surveillance, fourth part looks at data Supreme Court in various cases starting
collection and COVID-19, fifth part from M. P. Sharma and Ors. v Satish
emphasises on health and privacy, sixth Chandra, District Magistrate, Delhi and
part deals with finance and data, seventh Ors to the most recent K. S. Puttaswamy
part puts in a case study of Delhi, eighth (Retd.) v. Union of India. In K. S.
part discusses the dilemmas , and finally Puttaswamy (Retd.) v Union of India,
conclusion and the way forward. wherein the ‘Aadhaar Card Scheme’ was
challenged on the ground that collecting
2.0 Privacy and Data Protection and compiling of the demographic and
Laws in India biometric data of the residents can be
possibly misused for purposes in breach of
Clive Humby rightfully claimed that data Article 21. Given the ambiguity of judicial
is the new oil of the 21st century, as it precedents on the matter, the Hon’ble
offers the promise of new wealth for both Supreme Court referred the matter to a
private and public players. The advent of constitutional bench consisting of 9 judges
the digitised economy has resulted in the resulting in the landmark judgement that
mass sharing of personal data both declared Right to Privacy as an intrinsic
willingly and unwillingly. The COVID- part of the right to life and personal liberty
19 pandemic has further pushed the trend under Article 21 and protected under the
of digitization and data sharing to a new Part III of the Indian Constitution.
level. As more social and economic
activities move online, the importance of 2.2 Issues surrounding Data Privacy in
privacy and data protection is being widely India
recognised. However, technology is 2.2.1 State’s interference in Right to Privacy
progressing at a rate that law is finding While the recognition of Right to Privacy
difficult to keep up with. According to the as protected under Articles 14, 19 and 21
data released by UNCTAD in 2020, was an accomplishment in the right
despite an 11% increase in the adoption of direction, the caveat that fundamental
data protection and privacy legislation in rights are not absolute and subject to
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reasonable restrictions to protect the India in July 2017 formed an Expert
legitimate interest of the state leaves a Committee under the guidance of Justice
possibility of government misuse. For B. N. Srikrishna to examine the concerns
example, in the Personal Data Protection relating to data protection in the country.
Bill, 2019 the government has a lot of In July 2018, a draft of the Personal Data
unwarranted powers such as granting Protection Bill 2018 was prepared after
exemptions to the government agencies seeking suggestions from the public,
from the requirements of the Bill. industry experts and other stakeholders.
On 11th December 2019, a revised draft in
2.2.2 Dilemma between “Rights based” data the form of Personal Data Protection Bill,
protection model and “consent based” data 2019 was introduced in the Lok Sabha,
protection model which is awaiting clearance and
India currently operates on a consent deliberations before being declared as an
based data protection model under which Act (ELP, 2017).
the data controller is free to use, process As per the survey conducted by the
and share the data with any third parties, authors, only 49% of respondents were
once the consent of the user is obtained. aware of the Privacy and data protection
However, not many are aware of the laws in India. The remaining half were
actual consequences of indiscreet data either unsure or unaware. Thus it can be
sharing at the time of providing consent. inferred that there is a strong need to
Thus many scholars have argued that India spread awareness among the people about
should adopt a rights based model which the laws in order to ensure that they are
gives greater autonomy to the users over better protected from privacy violations.
their personal data. (ELP, 2017). The survey also reveals that the majority of
people don’t read terms and conditions
2.3 Data Protection Laws in India before using social media. Therefore,
There is currently no dedicated data digital literacy is the need of the hour. We
protection legislation in India. Few must ensure that along with improving
pertinent provisions regulating operating rates, we should also focus on
inappropriate disclosure of personal how many people are skilled to protect
information are provided in the themselves from internet crimes that
Information Technology Act, 2000 ("IT breach privacy. Respondents expressed
Act") and the Information Technology that a possible reason for digital illiteracy is
(Reasonable Security Practices and because of the exclusionary availability of
Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or technology to only a few literate. When
Information) Rules, 2011 ("IT Rules") asked how effective data protection and
(Rai, 2020). Apart from this, there are privacy laws are, around 40% said that the
penal provisions provided in the Indian laws in India are not very effective, while
Penal Code, 1860. The Government of abc 66
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44% said that these laws are moderately of data collection.
effective.
2.4 Analysis of the Personal Data 2.4.2 Problem areas in the Personal Data
Protection Bill, 2019 Protection Bill, 2019
2.4.1 Key Features of Personal Data i) The PDPB, 2019 proposes a preventive
Protection Bill, 2019 framework that oversupplies government
The bill provides a legal framework for the intervention and strengthens the state.
collection and use of personal information. ii) The bill if implemented, could lead to a
In addition to creating a set of rights and significant increase in compliance costs for
responsibilities for the processing of businesses across the economy. This is
personal data, it proposes to set up a DPA problematic since most businesses in India
regulation and enforcement. The bill also are small. Such compliance requirements
vests substantive standard-setting powers would be especially onerous for them.
with the central government and tasks the iii) This bill also allows the government to
DPA with enforcing the same. compel businesses to share non-personal
An important feature of the bill is the wide data with it. This could have deleterious
scope of its applicability- to all enterprises consequences for innovation and
across India other than those specifically economic growth in the long run.
exempted. Significantly, it makes consent iv) Some scholars argue that the bill’s
a centrepiece of the proposed data reliance on strengthening consent-based
protection framework- free, informed, and mechanisms for protecting personal data is
specific consent, with provisions that allow not likely to be effective. Studies have
such consent to be withdrawn. Any data highlighted that increased disclosure
processing without such consent would be requirements to users about the use of
a violation and could result in penalties. It their data are becoming ineffective in light
also creates a separate category of of modern technological developments.
“sensitive personal data” and states that v) Another issue with the bill is the
such data can be processed only with proposed design of the Data Protection
“explicit consent.” Consent has to be taken Authority (DPA). This body will be tasked
after giving the user (defined as the “data with regulating the provisions of the bill
principal”) adequate information about the to frame regulations on issues such as
kind of data that will be collected and the mechanisms for taking consent, limitations
purpose for which it is being collected. on the use of data, and cross-border
Under the proposed framework, the data transfer of data. The supervisory mandate
fiduciary will be required to ensure the of the DPA is sweeping, given the fact that
data is accurate and stored only for the it has to regulate a wide array of
period necessary for satisfying the purpose preventive obligations, such as security
of data collection. safeguards and transparency requirements,
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vi) The bill allows the government to India, in particular, has seen a 37 per cent
exempt any of its agencies from the increase in cyber attacks in the first quarter
requirements of this legislation and also of 2020 compared to 2019 with a
allows it to decide what safeguards would minimum total cost of up to Rs 14 crore in
apply to their use of data. This, as the 2020 as reported by an IBM study. This
paper argues, potentially constitutes a new statistic puts India as one of the top
source of power for national security countries in cybercrime (Shinde and
agencies to conduct surveillance and, Alawadhi, 2021). This is despite the
paradoxically, could dilute privacy instead provisions in the Indian Penal Code, 1860
of strengthening it. (IPC) and the Information Technology
Act, 2000 (IT Act) that penalise
3.0 Cyber Crime, Cyber Security them(Kumari, 2021). Despite this growing
and Human Rights concern, the issue of cybersecurity has
received relatively little attention from
Cybercrime can be understood as any policymakers to the extent that the
illegal activity that uses a computer as an government has been unable to tackle the
instrument, target, or means of country’s growing need for a robust
committing further crimes. There is no cybersecurity apparatus.
definition of ‘cyber-crime’ in any of the
legislation, but cybercrime legislation can 3.2 Cyber Security and Human Rights
be found in a variety of statutes and even Human Rights are guaranteed under the
rules drafted by different regulators. United Nations’ Universal Declaration of
Human Rights (UDHR) and the
3.1 Cyber Crime in India International Covenant on Civil and
Data is the greatest asset of the new Political Rights (ICCPR) and include
information age, and thus it is very rights such as freedom of expression and
important to safeguard it and prevent speech, freedom of opinion and association
misuse. With increasing dependence on etc. In July 2012, the UN Human Rights
Information and Communication Council confirmed that “the same rights
Technology (ICT) in fields like defence, that people have offline must also be
governance, health, and education, trends protected online,” thus making the
have also uncovered the rising risks of formerly mentioned human rights
cyber attacks which have previously declarations of UDHR, and ICCPR
resulted in the closure of hospitals, and applicable to the Internet (Ketteman,
have taken electrical grids offline, brought 2012).
major cities to a standstill, and even
affected the integrity of democratic According to the definition developed by
processes in many countries (Brown and the Freedom Online Coalition,
Esterhuysen, 2019). Cybersecurity is defined as “the
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preservation – through policy, technology, positions of marginalisation or
and education – of the availability, vulnerability, because of their religion,
confidentiality and integrity of ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender
information and its underlying identity, are at a greater risk than others
infrastructure so as to enhance the security (APC, 2019).
of persons both online and offline. Threats
to cybersecurity can include computer In 2013, the UN Special Rapporteur on
viruses, spam, identity theft, data breaches, Freedom of Opinion and Expression
denial of service attacks, and cybercrime. issued a report on the impact of
With cyber threats becoming more surveillance on human rights, noting that
common and severe, governments around “the use of an amorphous concept of
the world are increasing their focus on national security to justify invasive
strengthening cyber security. However, in limitations on the enjoyment of human
doing so they often end up ignoring the rights is a serious concern.” Thus to ensure
human rights dimension. Experts argue that the laws and policies made on cyber
that many governments around the world security take into account the human
have this misguided tendency of viewing rights angle it is important to adopt a
human rights as an impediment to cyber multi-stakeholder approach where all the
security (Rossini and Green). stakeholders i.e governments, private
This idea of seeing human rights and sector, technical community, and civil
cyber security as opposites is very society are involved in the process of
problematic. A number of cybersecurity policy formulation.
measures that have been taken up by
countries could have a negative impact on 4.0 State Surveillance: Big Brother is
online speech and freedom of expression Watching you
by directly infringing upon such rights,
For instance- Internet shutdowns, mass Fear is not of being seen but that of being
government surveillance, data leak for seeable at all times- Bentham
financial gains, targeted attacks on human
rights defenders are just a few examples of Centralised Monitoring System (CMS),
severe human rights violations. A report 2009 is important to understand with
by the Association for Progressive regard to state surveillance. The
Communications (APC), a non-profit government claims the CMS is based on
organisation working on issues like human the Telegraph Act of 1885 which states
rights and internet access, highlighted that that the central or state government may
cyber threats or cyber insecurities are not intercept messages if the government is
experienced evenly by everyone. Human “satisfied that it is necessary or expedient to
rights defenders, journalists, and people do so in the interests of the sovereignty
abcd and integrity of India, the security of the
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state, friendly relations with foreign states established role and power functioning.
or public order or for preventing Consequently, there is no public
incitement to the commission of an accountability. A 2011 IBM study showed
offence.” (Sankaran, 2018) With the CMS, users spent just six seconds to read the
the government gets centralised access to agreement and only 8% read the whole
all the content traversing through telecom agreement before installing software.
networks in India and to all
communications meta-data, giving the 5.0 Data Collection & COVID-19
government full access to mobile data
including voice recordings, emails and Contact tracing techniques during
personal chats. Addison Little makes a COVID have increased the surveillance of
rather bold claim stating that the state. A report published by the Paris-
governmental, infrastructural, and cultural based cybersecurity consultancy Defensive
barriers will likely impede public Lab Agency highlights that the Aarogya
opposition to CMS, leaving Indian citizens Setu app not only traces user function but
largely without redress to vindicate their it can also be used to turn on built-in
civil liberties. This is a direct attack on the sensors such as the microphone. It can also
democratic values of our nation. access a smartphone’s data and contacts
The google survey also proves that the which can pose a major hindrance to the
majority of respondents (i.e. 51%) believe privacy of citizens. From the survey, it can
that state surveillance is an infringement of be inferred that the majority of the
their rights. One of the respondents wrote respondents (68.6%) believe that the right
clearly in the survey that “Definitely, state to privacy has taken a backseat during the
surveillance is an infringement of our pandemic.
rights as states conduct unlawful
surveillance without fear of legal An investigation by Huffington Post India
consequences as it was done in an also revealed that the Unique Identification
emergency”. Reasons need to be ethically Authority of India – which managed the
justifiable. Aadhar database – wants to amend the
The C-dot report mentions a centre for Aadhar rules to render “meaningless” the
excellence for Lawful Interception being data privacy measures that were put in
set up which will use high-end place to protect personal privacy. The
technologies such as open-source result would be an “all-encompassing,
intelligence, image processing and search auto-updating, searchable database to track
engine tools to scan Facebook and Twitter every aspect of the lives of each of India’s
for surveillance. However, there is no such over 1.2 billion residents” and “reveals how
Intelligence agency in India with a clearly the Indian government is rapidly building
abcd surveillance infrastructure under the guise
of poverty alleviation and how
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organisations like the World Bank are 6.0 Health and Privacy
happy to offer advice to developing
countries building intrusive systems that Health information is highly sensitive and
may not pass muster in places like Europe.” personal. The IT act doesn’t provide any
Documents obtained through the Right definition of personal data. For our
To Information Act by Srinivas Kodali, respondents, personal data includes an
data and internet governance researcher, individual’s unique credentials like
and the authors suggest that under the pictures, health information and interests.
guise of creating an SECC that They agree that technology in healthcare
automatically updates itself in real-time, will open new doors of innovation, but at
the National Social Registry (or the Social the same time, feel that it also needs to
Registry Information System or SECC penetrate at the grassroot level to make it
Social registry as it is also known) will inclusive.
either be a single, searchable Aadhaar-
seeded database or “multiple harmonised Recently the Digital health mission was
and integrated databases” that use Aadhaar launched which is the right step but we
numbers to integrate religion, caste, also need to note that the majority of the
income, property, education, marital status, population live in rural areas and don’t
employment, disability and family-tree have access to mobile phones. Also, health
data of every single citizen (Shrivastava, data can lead to discrimination in
2020). employment opportunities also, for
Across the border, China’s Social Credit instance, the taboo against mental health
System has presented an interesting model which is a part of sensitive personal
of state surveillance wherein every act of information. It is important to note that
the citizen is monitored in a public area Indian Law doesn’t provide any security
and accordingly his/her credit score is for sensitive personal information. In an
decided. One city, Rongcheng, gives all increasingly digitised world, the collection
residents 1,000 points to start. Authorities of data is inevitable, the real problem is
make deductions for bad behaviour like how that data is processed and the risks
traffic violations, and add points for good associated with it. The Supreme court of
behaviour such as donating to charity India has also noted that privacy invasions
(Kobie, 2019). The 2014 document often go undetected because of the non-
describing the government's plans notes rivalrous and invisible nature of data
that as "trust-keeping is insufficiently access, storage and transfer. Cross-border
rewarded, the costs of breaking trust tend transfer of data is also an issue which needs
to be low." Whether this sincere culture is more attention.
good or not poses a dilemma.
7.0 Finance and Data

Financial data is another very important
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component of the web today. The 8.0 Case Study: Delhi
Account aggregator framework of the
RBI, implemented in September 2021, Delhi has the most cameras (1,826.6) per
seeks to help collate financial data and square mile in the world. One study that
enable easy flow of financial data of evaluated the effects of CCTV in
customers between financial information Cambridge city details that “CCTV had no
providers and financial information users effect on crime according to survey data,
with account aggregators acting as and an undesirable effect on crime
intermediaries. Since data ownership is according to police records.'' The function
with individuals, the customer’s of the cameras, in reality, is different from
willingness to share the data will play a the stated purposes. “Surveillance
crucial role but financial data theft still intensifies the targeting of the people that
remains a major issue. the police already target. This can mean
Data and ethics need to be interlinked. For different groups in different countries, but
instance, the UK's Financial Account often includes minorities and the
Authority which is responsible for marginalised… over-policed and over-
regulating open finance for the UK market surveilled areas happen to be areas with a
in its “Call for Input on Open Finances” significant Muslim population. This means
highlights the issue of data ethics arising that Muslims will bear the brunt of the
out of the interconnected systems. The use inaccuracy of facial recognition
of machine learning, artificial intelligence, technology, especially given Delhi Police’s
and the risk of perpetuating existing biases decided lack of friendliness towards
and prejudices present additional potential Muslims recently.” (Vipra, 2021) Face
risks emanating out of open finances (FCA Recognition Technology is also prone to
2019). general inaccuracy, even though the error
Another concern that has been highlighted rate is reducing as technological
by researchers is that the consent improvements occur. It can produce both
architecture adopted by the account false negatives and false positives
aggregator system may not address the (Crumpler, 2020).
needs of the feature phone users in India
who may not have access to a reasonably To understand the dynamics of policing
good internet connection and electricity and CCTV cameras in Delhi, the authors
(Raghavan and Singh 2020). We have to referred to the report “The use of facial
make consent as the condition of the recognition technology for policing in
service otherwise it is just an illusion. Data Delhi” by the Vidhi Centre for Legal
mining is another huge issue requiring Policy. The pogrom ravaged North-East
regulation and there needs to be a Delhi in February 2020, further
structured data sharing system. victimisation of Muslims followed, with
arbitrary arrests and police harassment.
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Delhi Police claimed that 137 of the 1800 the framework of human rights? The
arrests connected to this violence were power symmetry in the context of
made using FRT. They also claimed that technology is deeply unequal. Although it
“the accused were arrested mainly on the has proven to be a more efficient system of
basis of CCTV footage and open-source governance due to its speed and is even
videos.”(Vipra, 2021) credited for democratisation; it turns out
that speeding up the process, in the long
An interview with a police officer of Delhi run, is not smooth. For example, social
named Mukesh Chaudhary, posted in East movements can accelerate their process,
Delhi, revealed that “increased use of facial but the long-term process of organic
recognition technology, their task has development can now mature at a much
reduced and it's helping them to catch faster rate, granting them power for a
criminals.” According to him, Data much longer period of time and without
collection is “inevitable.” Cameras have requiring many years of experience.
also been installed in government schools Taking such steps with the help of
of Delhi although the CM of Delhi, technology could lead to gross social
Arvind Kejriwal has reassured that there injustices as well as infringement of
will be no privacy breach as children go to human rights for it allows power exertion
school for education, to learn discipline, over those deprived of technology by
and become good citizens of the those who are already well off.
country… they do not go there for
anything private. There has also been a Recent developments in the field of
sharp increase in cybercrime In Delhi Artificial Intelligence(AI) and automation,
during the pandemic. According to the show a lack of emphasis on
Delhi Police, 24% of the complaints were ‘accountability’. Although AI has helped in
related to social media, primarily online gathering data on right abuses, or even in
harassment, and the rest 14 per cent were the case of recreating crime scenes, it has
related to crimes such as hacking and data at the same time undermined efforts of
theft. ‘accountability’. The actors who have
actually utilised technology to perpetuate
9.0 Human Rights and Technology- violence may not be held to the same
New Challenges for Justice and standard as those who have inflicted
Accountability human rights violations, and therefore
may not be held accountable in the same
With the increasing development in the way because technology tends to
technological arena, we have undoubtedly naturalise crimes and make them sound
witnessed profound changes. However, inevitable.
with this rise, a crucial question that needs
addressing is- Is this really helping towards A study from MIT found that gender
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classification systems sold by several major human rights and seldom held accountable
tech companies had an error rate as much for their discriminatory practices. The
as 34.4 percentage points higher for survey results show that only 11.8% of
darker-skinned females than lighter- respondents believe that their right to
skinned males. Likely due to skewed data privacy is protected by private social media
sets, examples like this present a myriad of companies like Facebook and Twitter
problems in decision-making, especially in while 89% do not trust them. 52.3% of
employment recruiting and criminal respondents believe that the government
justice systems. Last year, WIRED should regulate the collection of personal
published an article called “Artificial data by social media companies whereas
Intelligence Makes Bad Medicine Even 20.5% on the other hand felt that it should
Worse,” which highlights how diagnoses not do so. 27.3% of respondents also felt
powered by AI aren’t always accurate, and that maybe the government should be able
when they are, they’re not always to do so given the major phase of
necessary to treat. Imagine getting technological advancement we live in.
screened for cancer without having any
symptoms and being told that you do in There happens to be an embedded
fact have cancer, but later finding out that privilege when we talk about the recent
it was just something that looks like surge in the digitalization of education and
cancer, and the algorithm was wrong. office work. Covid-19 introduced us to
(Stoecker, 2021) What needs the the new normal, that is the online phase of
government’s attention is the preliminary our lives where all our work is conducted
stage of AI design and the glaring lack of with the help of the internet. But while
ethicality embedded in it. the privileged section of society didn’t face
With the changing landscape between the any hurdles in this change of lifestyle, a
public and private, there is a noticeable large section was left out. According to a
connectedness between the two. On one report by UNESCO, half of all the
hand, state surveillance has helped in students out of the classroom- or 830
ousting terrorism activities to a certain million learners globally- did not have
level and aided the state in preventing access to a computer. Thus, in order to
foreign interference and violence-related bridge the already present gap between the
activities which can prove to be highly rich and poor, there is an express need for
detrimental for the civilians; on the other the government to provide resources.
hand state entrustment of regulation to
private actors leaves civilians’ personal data It has also been realised lately, that
being processed and managed by private technology needs to work in accordance
firms arguably driven by purely with the guidelines and direction of law
commercial interests, unconcerned about and be well versed in its monumental
abcd societal impacts. Hence the role of activists
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becomes very important in ensuring that regular data audits.
technology does not really consider a 10.3 A Data Tribunal
narrow approach towards politics and Government bodies also need to be in the
society. Moreover, we see it is the state ambit of data access restrictions. An
that introduces technology and ends up independent tribunal concerned with data
shaping it accordingly, and this often protection should be created for the speedy
results in further entrenching the disposal of cases relating to the right to
persisting inequalities. Hence, the privacy and protection of personal data.
vulnerable population, particularly from Annual reports should be published on
the global south must be considered as a such cases to generate awareness among
part of artificial intelligentsia so that the the masses.
limited technological interpretations can 10.4 Inspired by the Best Practices
be improved and made inclusive. The European data directive on data
protection is worth considering:
10.0 Recommendations Collection limitation principle, Data
quality principle, purpose specification
Who controls data and how it is used raises principle, use limitation principle, security
significant political questions? Some safeguard principle, openness principle,
suggestions to regulate this powerful tool individual participation principle, and
include- accountability principle.
10.1 Encryption Laws 10.5 Adoption of a Multi stakeholders
India lacks an encryption policy that approach while formulating cyber
protects the confidentiality and integrity of security policies
its’ citizens’ information whether in transit To ensure that the laws and policies made
or storage. In 2015, the government had on cyber security take into account the
attempted to put forward a draft National human rights angle, it is important to
Policy on Encryption (Mathur, 2015) but adopt a multi-stakeholder approach where
it was withdrawn within two days for its all stakeholders, i.e., governments, private
unfeasible and unclear provision. Since sector, technical community, and civil
then, the 2nd draft on encryption was society are involved in the process of
never released. policy formulation.
10.2 Data Protection Authority 10.6 Data Time Limit
The authors propose the formation of a There should be a time limit for data, like
Data Protection Authority responsible for an OTP, to ensure optimal user consent,
managing data as envisaged in the Personal prevention of misuse, and safeguarding of
Data Protection Bill, 2019. The framework abc 75
should include data protection officers and
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the right to privacy of an individual. Brown, Deborah and Anriette
Esterhuysen. “Why Cybersecurity Is a
11.0 Conclusion Human Rights Issue, and It Is Time to
Start Treating It like One.” APC.
The combination of the increasing power November 28
of new technology and the diminishing
clarity and agreement on privacy has given Crumpler, William. “How Accurate are
rise to problems of law, policy, and ethics. Facial Recognition Systems – and Why
A balance between technology and Does It Matter?.” Centre for Strategic &
legislation is required to allow citizens to International Studies. April 14, 2020.
make the best use of technology along
with enjoying safeguards from its pitfalls. “Data and Privacy Unprotected in One
Technology and human rights need to Third of Countries, despite Progress.”
progress hand-in-hand for there to be UNCTAD. April 29, 2020.
meaningful development.
Nicole Perlroth in her book ‘This is how they “Data Protection & Privacy Issues in India,
tell me the world ends’ warns about ‘zero- Economic Laws Practice.” September 1,
day’, the most coveted tool in a spy’s 2017. https://elplaw.in/wp-
arsenal that gives them the ability to spy content/uploads/2018/08/Data-Protection-
silently to obtain information. And 26-Privacy-Issues-in-India.pdf
information undoubtedly brings power. As
we all near ‘zero-day’, or are likely in the Goel, Ashish. “Indian democracy cannot
midst of it, it becomes even more crucial to survive a surveillance state.” The Times of
develop a decentralised search engine, put India. July 26, 2021.
into place strict regulations and
accountability mechanisms, strive for Kettemann, Matthias.“UN Human Rights
inclusive and equal growth and most Council Confirms that Human Rights
importantly, educate ourselves and be Apply to the Internet.” July 23, 2012.
cognizant of the risks that accompany https://www.ejiltalk.org/un-human-
technology’s promised liberations. rights-council-confirms-that-human-
rights-apply-to-the-internet/

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about China's social credit system.” Wired.
APC Report. “The Surveillance Industry June 7, 2019.
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https://www.apc.org/sites/default/files/AP and Its Legal Remedies.” Times of India.
C_submission_Surveillance_industry_and_ July 15, 2021.
human_rights.pdf

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Nayadu, Ujjawala. “Delhi Police Stoecker, Dean. “Protecting The Human:
Introduces Smart Technology For Its Ethics In AI.” Forbes. June 10, 2021.
Forces’ Modernization & Citizens’ “The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019.”,
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Rai, Sambhavna. “Legal and Regulatory August 2021.
Issues of Privacy and Data Protection in e-
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2020.

Rossini, Carolina, and Natalie Green.
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content/uploads/2015/06/GCCS2015-
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Sankaran, Keerthana. “Big Brother is here:
Amid snooping row, govt report says
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Shinde, Shivani and Neha Alawadhi.
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Business Standard. April 6, 2021,

Shrivastava, Kumar Sambhav. “Documents
Show Modi Govt Building 360 Degree
Database To Track Every Indian”
HuffPost. September 15, 2020.

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'Transhumanism Inevitability' by Roman Bonchuk
The painting depicts lamentation over the robot-messiah, drawing parallels with the biblical


messiah, challenging us to question the promise and fate of transhumanism in the future.

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