Demystifying Regulation in Technology – Episode 5

The scramble for power over who controls cyberspace has been unanimously awarded to Big Tech, making them highly profitable enterprises that have gained a massive foothold despite little-to-no privacy regulations and fragile liability laws. This perverse power means that everyone is struggling to figure out how to combat these behemoths.

It seems like there’s no accountability, a bigger gap in inequality and lack of opportunity and it’s not a problem familiar only to India. What’s going to happen in India during this information age? We have the Privacy and Data Protection Bill (PDP) that is being examined, with multiple extensions being granted for the report to be submitted. but can it keep pace with this dynamic economic and social reality we’re living in? Or will the regulation of Big Tech in India just be ad hoc? Sure, it’s great that in this new wave of digitization, the government is also adopting technology and data-driven governance is becoming more and more prominent, especially since COVID-19. But, while the adoption of technological capabilities can be lauded, doesn’t this also mean there is unfettered access to layers and layers of personal data of Indian citizens that is largely unchecked?