Startups show a welcome move towards ‘Right To Privacy’

After the SC ruling, here’s what startups say

Startups have shown a transparent gesture in India’s new Right to Privacy as per a recent report by Forbes.  After the Supreme Court ruled that privacy shall be a fundamental right, a bigger question is about the number of companies that would respond. Many legal experts and startup founders believe that this ruling will lead to an organised and transparent approach. This would be in the fields of data collection, storage and usage, by India’s digital leaders.

Legal aftermath

The Supreme Court called the right to privacy as a fundamental one for Indians. The startup representatives and legal biggies feel that this might have a lasting effect on data protection and privacy across India.

Stephen Mathias, partner and co-chair of technology law at Kochchar & Co., says, “The manner of personal data collection will change. Right now, consent is being given by consumers. Without them necessarily knowing why their data is being used."

Startups in agreement with the move

Startups have remained optimistic about this move. They are too eager to see protocols being set with matters relating to data collection and use.

Bala Parthasarathy, co-founder of fintech startup Moneytap, says,

“This ruling empowers the consumer. There is a significant level of data abuse today and this ruling will now force startups to define specific guidelines on data collection. Once they sketch the outlines for data use, customers will be more forthcoming about sharing personal information.

While SEBI, RBI and TRAI currently work on specific rules on data sharing and usage, startups can rectify their mode of working in data collection.

Suhas Gopinath, co-founder and CEO of HappyEMI says, “Startups have to employ responsible ways to gather data, devise better user interface and experiences that make the consumer aware of the data being collected, stored and used. In addition, digital and offline campaigns must be deployed to educate users about the right to privacy. A user’s ignorance about this ruling cannot be treated as consent.”

While the right to privacy is yet to become a law, Indian startups can thrive for best practices towards data collection and usage.

While the Indian startups have shown a positive gesture towards the SC ruling, do you think this would change the rating in customer analytics?

Do let us know.

Excerpts from Forbes.

 

 

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