Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Transparency
Secrecy
New Definitions in an Open World
Thoughts on Surviving
is no 100% fool-proof mechanism
to protect this data. While there is a
promise of crackdown on corruption
and tax evasion, there is no reciprocal
commitment of protection from the
government in case of identity theft.
Surveillance and More
Transparency, if used to discriminate,
divide and program human thought
and action, is a ticking time bomb.
On the need for a privacy law There is a common perception
these days that privacy is no longer
It is hard to say if a balance can be
and the importance of sound
a serious concern for most people.
struckif the light between privacy technological design to preserve That is a myth that needs to be
and transparency can shine both both privacy and transparency. quickly debunked. If that were true,
ways. people would be sharing more
When the future is history, well have detailed personal information with
some answers. abandon. But no matter who it is,
there is always some personal data
that they do not want to put out in
the public domain. That is the real
definition of private information. To
varying degrees, everybody believes
in some form of privacy.
The fact that people share information
more freely online is not indicative
of a shift in our attitude towards
privacy. It just points to another
important right that has become more
prominent in recent times: the right to
publicity. In many ways then, private
information is like currency in the
Maya George is Vice- attention economy. Each of us should
President (Content) at be able to decide how much of it we
The PRactice. want to spend and where.
Any system we devise then to protect
an individuals right to privacy cannot
impede on his or her desire to share.
They may willingly choose to share There are already about fifty sectoral
information with the government or laws in India covering media,
the private sector and that is their healthcare, banking, e-governance
prerogative. However, the problem and more. But they have been
arises when they are not completely developed at different points in time
aware of what can be done with this and dont follow the same standards.
information. Many are also outdated.
In theory, most people know the What we need now is a horizontal
risks involved in sharing personal layer and an omnibus law that will
details online. But until they have be administered by the Office of
an actual negative experience as the Privacy Commissioner. This law
a result - stalking, identity theft or should avoid going into too much
a bank account being hacked - it detail and steer clear of niche rules
remains a peripheral concern. A good for different sectors. Managing the
analogy would be that of a cigarette nuances of areas as varied as Fintech
smoker who is completely aware and HR can be achieved through a
of the risks of lighting up but only system of co-regulation under which
feels compelled to do something each industry is encouraged to come
about it following a cancer diagnosis. up with its own set of rules and
Awareness, in both instances, does standards. The Privacy Commissioner
not lead to prevention. can examine these for compliance
This is where regulation can come in with the spirit of the law and, in some
to protect individual interests. Many cases, suggest tweaks to improve
people choose not to wear seat their efficacy.
belts but the government doesnt The purpose of the law is to provide
depend on accidents to change a high level framework, largely
this behaviour. Instead, it uses a consisting of principles issued by
more proactive approach based on the privacy regulator. Beyond that, a
enforcing laws mandating seat belt co-regulatory process will ensure that
use. we dont over-regulate industry and
A good privacy law has to do two stifle innovation.
things. It needs to be built around The right to privacy is a fundamental
protecting the rights of citizens right for individuals but so is the
but it should also provide a more right to transparency. In India, the
uniform landscape for corporations latter is enabled by the RTI and the
to operate in. There is tremendous expectation it has created is that
opportunity for monetization of the government shares data with
personal information today. However, its citizens. Privacy, on the other
corporations may not be willing to hand, needs secure technology in
take risks in developing products to order to be protected. A project like
take advantage of this opportunity UIDAI bills itself as a unique identity
in the absence of a predictable legal database but creeps into the realm of
environment. surveillance with its use of biometric
technology. Its primary design flaw appreciate the various flavours of
lies in the fact that all its information security but, if you go overboard
resides in a centralized database that with it, you may actually undermine
is essentially a honey pot for hackers. it. Once we have all the necessary
Even if the information is sealed, elements of a privacy law in place,
there is a price for access that may then surveillance can happen in a
tempt an insider. And given that targeted fashion. However, mass
the data can be tampered with, the surveillance under which everybody
design of UIDAI is not good for either is surveilled at all times is never
privacy or transparency. justified.
These issues are rarely debated
because UIDAI is a pet project of
In a democracy, privacy, security
and transparency are all equally All in the Pursuit of a Story
techno-utopians. When it comes to important. With the right legisla-
technology, this group believes that tive framework and technological
more is better than less, expensive backbone, we can have them all.
options are likely to work better Indian journalism and related When it comes to privacy, there are
than cheaper ones, and complex numerous boundaries that news
thoughts on privacy, anonymity
is preferable to simple. This is not organizations must ideally observe.
always true but techno-utopianism is and data-driven stories. Unfortunately, in India, the vast
an ideology that is increasingly hard majority do not do that. There are
to counter. a slew of factors responsible for
this - the primary ones being failing
The reality is that surveillance, business models, a lack of editorial
whether through UIDAI or another control and indifference towards
system, is an important and ethics across media outlets. We see
inescapable ingredient in national this blatant disregard for privacy in
security. Its a bit like salt in cooking. television news all the time. There
You need tiny amounts to truly are several lines news channels
should not cross when covering a
story and it doesnt take tremendous
journalistic instincts to figure out
where these lie. They involve simple
guidelines such as respecting the
privacy of assault victims, those who
have been otherwise victimised or
who specifically ask for privacy. But
as a community, we largely ignore
those boundaries. In some cases
Sunil Abraham of rape, we may not reveal names
is the Executive Director
but we still provide enough clues
of the Centre for
Internet and Society,
regarding the identitiies of the victims.
a Bangalore-based So, we have still violated the privacy
- As communicated to Viewpoint research organisation. rule in spirit, if not by its formal
definition.
Intense competition is one reason making them less likely to open up
why issues of privacy are in the future. It also compromises
sidestepped in the industry. Television a big part of journalisms role in a
is a prime example of such a democracy - to serve as a watchdog
competitive landscape. At last count, that calls attention to the missteps
there were 700 news channels across of government. In this adversarial
India of which no more than ten are capacity, we have to be ready to face
profitable. That gives one a sense some pressure and even harassment.
for the financial pressure faced by
Indian media. It may not justify the The rise of populism globally has
behaviour but it does explain it. already impacted journalisms ability
to be truly adversarial. In places like
There is no doubt that a journalistic Turkey, an increasingly dictatorial ruler
code of ethics is vital for every news has pre-emptively imprisoned close
reporting organization. Again, this to 200 journalists who might have
is something most Indian news opposed his agenda. In a democracy,
organisations have not formalised. A the pressure is more subtle but still
handful do operate under a published real. The best way to resist it is for
code of ethics or an ombudsman. But news outlets to present a united front
such ethical guidelines or oversight against such coercion. Unfortunately,
are largely missing across the board. that is difficult to achieve in a
Another important aspect of privacy fragmented and factionalised media
in journalism involves protecting landscape. And journalism in India,
the anonymity of sources. Reliable despite having expanded significantly
sources are vital to journalism. When in recent years, has also caved in the
they provide information of a sensitive face of growing populism. In-depth
nature, they may also be subject investigation and coverage - of public
to retaliatory action. Increasingly, schemes or of the inner functioning of
governments everywhere are using governments or businesses - is hard
the bogey of national interest to to come by in this environment.
coerce or intimidate journalists into It is a truism of our time that we are
revealing their sources. living in an age of information or news
Identifying sources is something overload. At the same time, our ability
journalists should do in the rarest to distinguish between truth and
falsehood is greatly diminished. The
of rare cases - such as when an
24/7 avalanche of news - both real
individuals life or personal safety
and fake - comes at us from different
is under threat. National interest angles through the phones we cant
is not grounds for breaking this stop checking. We no longer have
agreement. Once we start using the time or inclination to focus on a
that as a test, we will find ourselves story in order to assess its credibility
on a slippery slope. It weakens our or importance. Its incumbent upon
credibility with potential sources, journalism and journalists to address
this issue. This is where data can
come into play. For example, we can
run the statements of government
leaders, politicians and other public
figures through regular fact checks. In
the process, we are likely to find that
many of them routinely exaggerate,
A Changing View of
misrepresent or distort these facts.
The problem with reportage is that it
forces us to occupy some position
on the ideological spectrum. But
data enables us to place people,
events and trends in perspective
Privacy?
without resorting to subjective
analysis. To the extent that we can
strip out opinion and provide just the How have our notions of privacy
facts, it allows people to arrive at shifted over the last two decades?
their own considered conclusions. Are we letting go of our expectation
Such data-driven storytelling will of it? Does a younger generation of
be important if journalism has to digital natives care less about the
push back against the onslaught issue?
of alternative news and boost its Researchers and marketers have
relevance. been examining these and related
questions more closely in recent
years because the answers are
relevant for policy, legislation and
guidelines surrounding privacy.
Interestingly, studies seem to indicate
that the generational gap in this area
is not as stark as is widely assumed.
A 2013 Washington Post-Pew
Research Center poll found that
while online sharing was widespread
among the young, older individuals
were not too far behind. So, there
may be a degree of stereotyping that
comes into play when discussing the
Samar Halarnkar digital habits of millennials.
is Editor of IndiaSpend.
However, the same poll (as well
com, a public interest
journalism website.
as similar surveys) also found
that millennials are less worried
- As communicated to Viewpoint about being targeted by marketers
relationship status, their college, security. Posting your hometown
and details about their most recent on Facebook or Instagram seems
road trip. This begs the question - less frightening if you know that the
with so much personal information majority of your friends are doing it
readily available to the masses, has too.
our sense of privacy and security Additionally, as an article in The
diminished? Atlantic points out, users of social
In general, I dont feel threatened by media sites are already primed
the amount of information I share to give up their right to be alone.
with others on the internet, and as Most sites will ask strings of
far as I can tell, neither do my peers. questions about your past education,
I believe that this lack of concern relationships, and homes, making it
stems from the way that teenagers seem as though it is perfectly safe
take advantage of social media. We and normal to post such things.
use it to manufacture new, virtual These factors, along with the fact
versions of ourselves, versions that that young people are generally less
are constantly laughing with friends paranoid about the dangers of the
or taking interesting trips. Because of outside world than adults, are - in
the amount of control we can exert my opinion - what allow millennials
over our digital personas, we can to be unconcerned with their lack of
ensure that the world only sees what privacy online. There are, of course,
than their parents. They express Born Free to Share: we want them to see. Knowing that variations in terms of the amount of
a higher degree of concern about photographs or posts online may not information that is shared, but as a
government-backed surveillance but
A millennial viewpoint be an entirely accurate representation group, we feel far less violated by
rarely change their online behaviour I think technology is one of the of our experiences allows us to retain digital sharing and are less likely to
to reflect this concern. greatest ironies of my life - the some semblance of privacy - only we find it intrusive.
more I use it, the less I realize how know the real truth.
To quote a senior Pew researcher Itll be interesting to see whether this
much I rely on it. It seems to extend
associated with the study: Privacy We undoubtedly share more of feeling changes as we grow older
its influence a bit more everyday,
is not an on/off switch-its more like a ourselves with the public than the and are faced with some of the harsh
whether its through a new app,
spectrum. We make various choices generations before us did, but I realities of the world, but for now, we
a new device, or a new website.
in various situations, depending on think that the sheer number of are the generation that has grown up
And so, when I do take the time to
perceived risks and benefits. young people revealing the same along with the internet, and we are
sit back and consider how deeply
For now, it appears as if the internet information about themselves quells not yet afraid of it.
immersed I am in the digital realm,
has redefined risk boundaries for any concerns we may have about
Im always taken aback at how
everyone on it, regardless of when helpless I would be without it.
they were born.
Its quite clear that this intense
Source: dependence on the internet is Varsha Srinivasa
Greenblatt, Alan. When it Comes to Online shared by almost all millennials is a 19 year old who is
Privacy, a Disconnect for the Young. currently studying at the
today, and social media in particular
<http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechcon- University of California in
is a powerful force in our lives. A Los Angeles (UCLA).
sidered/2013/06/10/190433719/when-it-
comes-to- online-privacy-a- disconnect-for- five second scan of a strangers
the-young> Facebook timeline can give us their
In Defense of the Flawed
Whistleblower
Whistleblowers are not always Long before transparency
became the byword it is today,
saints, but they dont need
whistleblowers were the ones
to be. holding public entities accountable.
Armed with insider access and a
hyperactive moral compass, these
individuals routinely exposed
corruption, fraud and other forms
of unethical behavior within
organizations.
There are famous and, in some
cases, infamous whistleblowers,
And then there are lesser known
ones who do their whistleblowing
away from the media spotlight. For
every Edward Snowden granting
interviews from Russia, there is
probably an accountant who quietly
and unceremoniously lifts the cover
on his employers book-keeping
violations.
The celebrity variety is known to
tackle outsized issues such as
the Orwellian spying tactics of
governments. In 2013, Edward
Snowdens leaks kickstarted
a public debate about mass One of the biggest scoops in US to separate real whistleblowers of outspoken individuals like
surveillance and the individual right political history was delivered by from trolls taking aim under the Satyendra Dubey and Manjunath
to privacy. The former CIA employee two journalists based on information cover of anonymity. The irony Shanmugham remind us that
has claimed a larger purpose aimed supplied to them by a source here is that anonymity has largely whistleblowing is often fatal in India.
at furthering public interest in his cryptically codenamed Deep been recognized as necessary for The starkness of this reality moved
actions. Despite that, his manner Throat. It was only much later that whistleblowing to flourish without the Indian parliament to strengthen
of exposing the overreach of that Deep Throat was identified as fear of retaliation. Now, it may protection for whistleblowers in
American intelligence networks has Mark Felt, an FBI long-timer who also be a shield for those who just 2014 but several provisions of
been controversial. He is wanted devised an elaborate system to talk want to fire unwarranted salvos at the new law are still being ironed
in the US for leaking top secret to the Washington Post journalists organizations with which they are out. Even when it does pass,
documents and violating World War without being detected. The story miffed. there is likely to be a gap between
I era laws against espionage. Public that Bob Woodward and Carl But when one considers how legislation and enforcement.
opinion is divided on whether he is Bernstein subsequently published in many reforms across industries Clearly, what we should be
a hero or a traitor although there is 1972 about the events at Watergate whistleblowing has enabled over examining more closely is not the
greater support for him outside the and the degree to which the Nixon
the decades, this seems like a motivation of whistleblowers but the
country and among millenials. administration was eavesdropping
minor consideration. Dedicated degree to which they are protected
It was with a view to protecting on political adversaries, brought
whistleblowers press ahead despite from their targets. The world is
leakers like Snowden and their right down that presidency.
public backlash and accusations not served by a detailed character
to leak that whistleblowing site, For Felt, it was a dangerous gambit of disloyalty to company or sketch of a whistleblower. But it is
Wikileaks, was launched in 2006. Its given his position within the FBI and country. Globally, they have made poorer by the untimely death
founder, Julian Assange, is nothing if the political environment at the time. exposed malpractice in healthcare, of one.
not controversial. Even his supporters Ever since his involvement became challenged the polluting ways of
view him as a flawed hero with the public knowledge, many have energy companies and held Big
shadow of sexual assault charges speculated on why he did it. In more Tobacco responsible for concealing
still hanging over him. To his critics, recent years, Woodward himself has important research on the effects of References:
Assange is an egomaniac who is not concluded that Felts motivation smoking. http://blogs.reuters.com/jackshafer/2012/02/21/
held back by scruples of any kind. was not entirely patriotic. Instead, what-made-deep-throat-leak/
Still, this self-styled information he was probably driven to talk by a In India, questioning crusaders
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/09/
archivist is not one to be deterred in personal vendetta against the Nixon have tried to expose adulteration edward-snowden-nsa-whistleblower-surveillance
his mission. Given his approach to administration after it had bypassed and extortion as well as the general https://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/jul/14/
information dissemination, Assange is him for the role of FBI Director. sleaze and corruption that taint our julian-assange-whistleblower-wikileaks