<p>With the Justice B N Srikrishna Commission likely to submit its report on a new data privacy law soon, activists and lawyers have stepped up efforts to ensure that the law is not diluted.</p>.<p>A group of young lawyers under the banner 'Save Our Privacy', supported by the Internet Freedom Foundation, has now come up with an 'Indian Privacy Code' that proposes a fine that runs up to Rs 10 crore and a jail term of five years if somebody "collects, receives, stores, processes, discloses or otherwise handles any sensitive personal data" illegally or conduct unlawful surveillance.</p>.<p>For violating the privacy of citizens, the Code proposes a fine running up to Rs 1 crore and a prison term of up to three years. The Code proposed by them includes action against private parties in case of violation of privacy.</p>.<p>In August, the government appointed a 10-member Committee of Experts on a Data Protection Framework for India under Justice Srikrishna to "make specific suggestions for consideration of the central government on principles to be considered for data protection in India and suggest a draft data protection bill." The panel came out with a 243-page white paper in November.</p>.<p>The need for a robust data protection law arose amid reports of a leak of 'Aadhaar' data and controversy surrounding Cambridge Analytica harvesting personal details of Facebook users.</p>.<p>The draft law by the commission, which will be placed before Parliament, is expected to be a robust law that would deal with and regulate the use of personal data by technology companies like Facebook, Google and others.</p>.<p><br />The Code proposed by the lawyers pitch right to privacy as an "inalienable fundamental right" and emphasises that personal data can be collected only with one's consent.</p>.<p>It also wants all data collected, processed and stored prior to the date on which this law comes into force to be destroyed within a period of two years from the date on which it comes into force.</p>.<p>Also, one has the right to request erasure and destruction of data at any time and such requests should be complied within a time-frame, manner and mode to be prescribed by the Privacy Commission, which is to be set up by the government.</p>
<p>With the Justice B N Srikrishna Commission likely to submit its report on a new data privacy law soon, activists and lawyers have stepped up efforts to ensure that the law is not diluted.</p>.<p>A group of young lawyers under the banner 'Save Our Privacy', supported by the Internet Freedom Foundation, has now come up with an 'Indian Privacy Code' that proposes a fine that runs up to Rs 10 crore and a jail term of five years if somebody "collects, receives, stores, processes, discloses or otherwise handles any sensitive personal data" illegally or conduct unlawful surveillance.</p>.<p>For violating the privacy of citizens, the Code proposes a fine running up to Rs 1 crore and a prison term of up to three years. The Code proposed by them includes action against private parties in case of violation of privacy.</p>.<p>In August, the government appointed a 10-member Committee of Experts on a Data Protection Framework for India under Justice Srikrishna to "make specific suggestions for consideration of the central government on principles to be considered for data protection in India and suggest a draft data protection bill." The panel came out with a 243-page white paper in November.</p>.<p>The need for a robust data protection law arose amid reports of a leak of 'Aadhaar' data and controversy surrounding Cambridge Analytica harvesting personal details of Facebook users.</p>.<p>The draft law by the commission, which will be placed before Parliament, is expected to be a robust law that would deal with and regulate the use of personal data by technology companies like Facebook, Google and others.</p>.<p><br />The Code proposed by the lawyers pitch right to privacy as an "inalienable fundamental right" and emphasises that personal data can be collected only with one's consent.</p>.<p>It also wants all data collected, processed and stored prior to the date on which this law comes into force to be destroyed within a period of two years from the date on which it comes into force.</p>.<p>Also, one has the right to request erasure and destruction of data at any time and such requests should be complied within a time-frame, manner and mode to be prescribed by the Privacy Commission, which is to be set up by the government.</p>