RIGHT TO PRIVACY IN SOCIAL MEDIA- (Blog)


Introduction

            Privacy in social media is no way related to data of a specific user. It depends on the community as a unit. Maintaining privacy of the registered users of various social sites is the central role of the authorities and any deviation in it would totally wreck the organizational policy governance which will lead to serious havoc to fundamental rights of society. In social media, private details are shared by the user unknowingly or being aware of it. In some instances, private details shared unknowingly are extracted from them extrinsically by offering them some benefits. In India, the right to privacy as a fundamental right is always debatable. In Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India[1], the court stated that freedom of liberty is null and void without right to privacy. In Puttaswamy v. Union of India[2], the Supreme Court stated that privacy is a fundamental right under Part III of the Constitution.

Right to privacy and social media

          In simple words, social media means using internet as a base for communication and to expand the network. Social networking sites like WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Orkut have become so popular in the recent years. However, to use a social networking site and to discover other people, one have to create a profile with some kind of their personal details. The main purpose of social networking sites is to build a kinship in the virtual world. But only few knew that this blessing is accompanied with devil side.

            The more personal information provided to the sites, the more vulnerability arises. IP address, websites visited, online transactions, cookies and so on, personal details are shared by each use of internet. The consequence is cybercrimes like identity thefts, sexual predators, cyber stalking and defamation. Twitter once stated that they scanned the contacts of their users and stored the same to learn more about their users and preferences. Facebook too stated that they own all the contents which were posted on Facebook. Lack of knowledge regarding what to share and what not share is the main reason for the increase in cybercrimes. The privacy policy must be read carefully before giving consent.

Indian enactments and privacy in social media

            The advent of social networking sites brought the term privacy in social media in exposure. In India, there is no separate enactment on social media privacy and data protection. As of now, The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018 was tabled in Lok Sabha on 11th December, 2019. The Information Technology Act, 2000 explicitly deals with some provisions on privacy on the internet. Sections 43, 66, 66F and 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 deals with the protection of user privacy.

Privacy set up in social media

          The social networking sites limits protection as a major aspect of their default settings. It is necessary for the users to get into their users settings to alter their protection choices. For instance, Facebook gives the option to the user not to make visible their date of birth, email id, contact number and business status. The profile visibility view of various social networking sites are:

a.       Facebook – Settings > Privacy > Who can see your future posts?

b.      Twitter – Settings > Security and Privacy > Privacy > Tweet Privacy > Protect my Tweets

c.       LinkedIn – Settings > Account > Helpful Links > Edit your public profile

Conclusion

          Breaches in privacy are increasing day by day in India. There is nothing like cent percent security while one is on internet. When a person is using internet or social sites, the person is being watched. Software downloads, spyware, malware, adwares and as a part of national security sometimes Government do spy on the general public use in the internet and social networking sites. Social networking sites are double edged swords, so it is up to the respective users to use them wisely or may be they will end up with victims to cybercrimes.

[1] 1978 AIR 597

[2] (2017) 10 SCC 1


-Bini. R. A

School of Excellence in Law.


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