INTRODUCTION
In today’s technological and social media era, privacy is the supreme concern. Users have privacy rights over their data available on the internet. The challenges to privacy rights are increasing day by day as users are losing control over the distribution of their personal details on social media platforms. The term “privacy” includes communicational privacy, informational privacy, and individual privacy. The term “Information Privacy” means privacy of the information which is given by the users to the entities, “communicational privacy” means privacy of personal communications of the user on the platform, and individual privacy means privacy of the identity of the user on social media. It is pertinent to note that privacy does not only mean to keep the information of a user hidden from the public. It means that the entity must know which information of the user can be shared and which must not be shared publicly. Nowadays, people are posting their personal lives on social media freely, and therefore, it is mandatory to maintain digital privacy. Privacy is the right not only of individuals but also of businesses. Some valuable assets and strategies help businesses grow and reach their customers, but unauthorised use of business information infringes the privacy rights of companies. Thus, this blog focuses on privacy rights in the rapidly growing digital world.[1]
PRIVACY ON SOCIAL MEDIA HANDLES
In the growing social media world, people are becoming concerned about their privacy on social media. They are reluctant to keep their social media accounts public. In a recently published report, some people prefer to keep their accounts private, others prefer to keep them public, and some keep them public because they have to. People are creating content, promoting their brands to earn money, which forces them to keep their accounts public. Social media is a structure where people connect. Some social media handles are Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, etc. On all these sites, photos of people are easily available if they upload them, and if the profile of the user is not private, then anyone can share their photo, video, or any other information with anyone.
In the age of Artificial Intelligence, privacy on social media is at high risk because anyone can misuse the photos of people from social media to create deepfake images, and this leads to a violation of privacy. Sometimes, people themselves violate their privacy on social media handles. For instance, they put everything related to their life on social media, and for this, Snapchat is the platform where people send to each other the moments of their entire day, which ultimately violates their privacy even with consent. People follow Instagram trends such as having their photos edited through artificial intelligence. This must be kept in mind that sending photos to AI also violates privacy because AI replies to queries from the data already available on the internet, and if one sends their photo to AI, it can use that photo to create a deepfake or even use it for commercial purposes[2].
THE PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION BILL
The Personal Data Protection Bill was introduced in India for the enactment of data privacy rules. The main aim behind the introduction of this bill was to reconstruct the rules related to data privacy.
The principal elements of this bill are as follows:
- The term “Data” is defined in the bill as “representation of information, facts, concepts, opinions, or instructions”.
- The term “Personal Data” is defined in the bill as “data about or relating to a natural person who is directly or indirectly identifiable, having regard to any characteristic, trait, attribute or any other feature of the identity of such natural person, or any combination of such features, or any combination of such features with any other information”.
This bill encompasses particular types of data – personal data and sensitive personal data. Sensitive personal data includes information related to biometric, health, sex life, finance, caste, political or religious belief, etc. Another data is personal data, which requires to get more protection. The categories of this data have not yet been specified.
The following individuals are involved:
Data Principal: The owner of the data is called the Data Principal.
Data Fiduciary: An organisation or any individual who decides the purpose and mechanisms for processing personal data is called the data fiduciary.
Data Processor: A data processor is the one who carries out the data, and this person might be the data fiduciary himself or any third person in representation of the data fiduciary.
Independent Auditors: They manage data audits.
Data Protection Authority of India: This body enacts rules and makes judgments based on the information provided by Data Principal, Data Fiduciary, and Independent Auditors[3].
LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK ON THE RIGHT TO PRIVACY
In August 2023, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023[4] was introduced in India to protect the digital data of people. Before this, the digital data of people was protected by the Information Technology Act,2000[5], and the SDPI Rules of 2011, but these legislations were not enough to protect the digital rights of people in the fast-growing technology. This act allows the data principal to have control over their personal data and restricts the use or even storage of their data without their consent. In the case of breach of their data, this act gives individuals the right to seek a remedy for their problem and also authorises them to assign their data to the person they want. This act includes the “right to erasure.” This right allows individuals to get their personal information erased. This act makes the data fiduciaries responsible for the gathering and usage of personal data. Through transparency and fairness, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act strengthens Article 21[6] of the Constitution of India[7].
CONCLUSION
In the growing digital era, privacy has become a top concern for people. The use of Artificial Intelligence and social media has rapidly increased unauthorised access, misuse, and sharing of personal information. Humans sometimes unknowingly share their personal information, images, videos, etc, which is a violation of their own privacy. The use of Artificial Intelligence for personal details results in the creation of deepfakes. Not only individuals, but businesses also face violations of their privacy when their production or service strategies get leaked. The legal system of India has addressed data protection rights by introducing the Digital Personal Data Protection Act,2023, and the Personal Data Protection Bill. These set out the rules for data privacy, define data principal, data fiduciary, sensitive personal data, and personal data. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act grants individuals the right to control their data by restricting its transfer, storage, and processing.
Ultimately, the expanding digital ecosystem necessitates an active approach to privacy to strike a balance between the benefits of connectivity, innovation, and the protection of individual and business data. Moreover, within the context of online user participation, individuals have to take precautions concerning the types and amount of information they share via social media platforms. What is not be of significant to one could possibly be misappropriated as part of the risks of data-identity theft, cyberstalking, or even potentially deepfakes. Similarly, businesses must establish and adhere to data protection policies to lessen the risks of exposure of sensitive information when a leak occurs.
Author’s Name: Disha Singh (Government Law College, Indore)
[1] ‘Understanding Privacy in the Digital Age’, IEEE Digital Privacy, <https://digitalprivacy.ieee.org/publications/topics/understanding-privacy-in-the-digital-age/> accessed 27 September 2025
[2] Ayushman Patnaik and Harshit Arora, ‘The Right To Privacy In The Digital Age: How Technology Is Impacting Privacy On Social Media’ (2023) 3(3) Indian Journal of Integrated Research in Law <https://ijirl.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/THE-RIGHT-TO-PRIVACY-IN-THE-DIGITAL-AGE-HOW-TECHNOLOGY-IS-IMPACTING-PRIVACY-ON-SOCIAL-MEDIA.pdf> accessed 27 September 2025
[3] Ibid
[4] Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023
[5] Information Technology Act 2000
[6] Indian Constitution, Article 21
[7] Shreeya Patil, ‘Navigating the Digital Frontier: Right to Privacy in the Age of Social Media’ (TSCLD, 08 January 2024) <https://www.tscld.com/right-to-privacy-social-media> accessed 27 September 2025
