Working on data protection framework: Govt to SC 

A comprehensive data protection framework may be put in place by this year end and the TRAI is working on it, the government today told the Supreme Court A comprehensive data protection framework may be put in place by this year end and the TRAI is working on it, the government today told the Supreme Court. The government told the apex court that there would be a regulatory mechanism in place on data protection, likely by Diwali in October, and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) was actively pursuing a framework of this nature. Stating this, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi urged a five-judge constitution bench, headed by Justice Dipak Misra, to defer the hearing in the WhatsApp privacy policy matter by a couple of months so that the government can come out with the law on data protection"The government is actively mulling over a comprehensive data protection framework," Rohatgi told the bench, which also comprised Justices A K Sikri, Amitava Roy, A M Khanwilkar and M M Shantanagoudar. Senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for the petitioners, told the bench that there was no regulation in place and there should be privacy of data or information shared by the users on social networking or instant messaging platforms.

 "It does not look like that even the government is alive to this problem," hesaid, adding that the "TRAI is focussing on net-neutrality. Let them start on the policy for privacy first". Responding to this, the Attorney General said, "The TRAI is already in the process. By Diwali, we should have it (the new data protection framework)." He said the Centre's stand was "that there is going to be a regulatory regime to save the data base to guide the concept of net-neutrality" Rohatgi also referred to the privacy aspect and said another five-judge bench would be dealing with it while deciding petitions challenging the constitutional validity of Aadhaar scheme. Meanwhile, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing WhatsApp, told the apex court that they have an encrypted technology and data or contents, including voice and messages, shared on their platform cannot be accessed by a third party "WhatsApp has an end-to-end encrypted technology. We are more concerned about it. We are very popular because we protect privacy. We do not share content, data or anything," he said. Sibal also questioned the way in which the matter was listed for hearing before a constitution bench, saying it could not have been referred to such a bench without hearing the issue and framing questions Salve countered him saying "it has been done under the order of the Chief Justice of India.

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