Overview
The lecture covers recent legal changes and major data breaches in India, emphasizing the importance of privacy, the concept of "rights as trumps," and international data protection standards.
Legal Requirements for Tax Filing
- The Aadhaar card number is now mandatory for filing income tax returns in India.
- An Aadhaar card is required to apply for a PAN card.
- Filing an IT return without a valid PAN card number is invalid.
- Aadhaar enrollment number can be used temporarily when filing returns.
Data Breaches and Privacy Concerns
- Over 815 million Indians’ personal data, likely from the ICMR database, is reportedly for sale on the dark web.
- The data breach was discovered by US-based cybersecurity firm Resecurity; hacker PWN01 shared leaked Aadhaar data samples.
- Audio product and smartwatch company boAt suffered a data breach affecting 7.5 million customers.
- Leaked data includes names, addresses, contact numbers, email IDs, and customer IDs.
- Hackers exploit such data for financial fraud, phishing, and identity theft.
Issues with Data Protection in India
- Citizens often blame themselves for financial scams instead of systemic privacy failures.
- Foreign companies, like LinkedIn, request Aadhaar or voter ID verification, raising further privacy concerns.
- Indian data privacy laws offer less protection compared to EU’s GDPR.
- The Indian government has significant access to personal data, especially under claims of national security.
Rights as Trumps Doctrine
- Philosopher Ronald Dworkin popularized "rights as trumps," meaning individual rights outweigh collective or government goals.
- Dworkin emphasized rights protect autonomy and dignity and should not be overridden for convenience or efficiency.
- GDPR in the EU treats privacy as a fundamental right, granting individuals control over their data.
- In India, privacy is recognized as a fundamental right, but laws do not robustly enforce or protect it.
Communitarian vs. Individual Rights
- Communitarians argue that public health emergencies can justify overriding individual privacy for the common good.
- Dworkin’s view asserts privacy should always take precedence unless absolutely justified.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Aadhaar Card — A unique identification card issued by the Indian government containing biometric and demographic data.
- PAN Card — Permanent Account Number, used for tax identification in India.
- Data Breach — Unauthorized access and exposure of personal or sensitive information.
- Rights as Trumps — The principle that individual rights should override collective or governmental interests.
- GDPR — General Data Protection Regulation, EU law providing strong data privacy and control to individuals.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Write an essay discussing the doctrine of rights as trumps.
- Review the legal requirements for Aadhaar and PAN in tax filings.
- Read more on GDPR and compare it with Indian data privacy laws.