DATA PROTECTION, DATA SECURITY AND PRIVACY- REGULATORY CONCERNS AND ISSUES

Abstract

Before understanding data privacy, first, it is required to elucidate what privacy as a concept is and what sort of importance it holds under the law. Privacy which is not a new development, roots back to 1604 in the Semayne case, where it was recognised that “the house of everyone is to them as their castle and fortress.” In general, it means that you cannot enter someone's home unannounced and break open the door without a warrant or notice, as that would be a violation of one's territorial privacy. Essentially, the law on trespass is also based on the essence of privacy. In further development, Justice Louis Brandeis and Boston attorney Samuel Warren propounded the term "right to privacy" in 1890, arguing that the protection of private space is a basis of contemporary individual freedom and that the law should recognise this right and impose punishment for any intrusions on it.This ideology till date exists in various data privacy legislations championing the cause of data protection all over the world. Data privacy is the branch of data management that deals with handling personal data in compliance with data protection laws, regulations, and general privacy best practices.

The necessity for data privacy emerges due to the inherent value of data, as knowledge about any entity which aids in characterising and identifying that entity. Previously, the data was used for legitimate objectives such as national security. With the development of technology, however, numerous alternative uses of data and the possibility of data as a commodity is coming to rise.  As of today, the value of data has reached its all-time high and data is sometimes referred to as gold. The underlying reason is the harmony that has been created between the demand supply chain. As people have literally created their own virtual avatars on internet, no piece of information has been left private with them.