The Anatomy Of Privacy In The Cyber World: A Comparative Analysis Of Privacy Laws And Health Data Privacy In The Eu, The USA And India.

Abstract

Privacy is recognised as fundamental civil liberty worldwide. Though the articulation of ‘Right to Privacy’ is found strongly in the West, India too, with growing awareness about privacy and its importance, is working towards the privacy protection. With computers, smart phones and internet becoming the tools of daily interaction, protection of privacy in the cyberspace takes prominent space. Healthcare facilities in a developing economy plays an important role. It is often observed that in a less developed economy, there exists a trade-off between healthcare facilities and privacy of an individual. Whereas in a developed economy, health information breach and theft of personal health information for financial gains is a growing criminal activity. This study tries to understand, how medical information privacy is different and important when compared to other personal information. This research studies the legislations in the United States, the European Union and India about privacy and data protection and compares the comprehensiveness of the laws with respect to the globally recognised best practices on privacy and data protection. The study also tries to understand the laxity in the Indian system when it comes to privacy and its protection. The study tries to understand this from the lens of culture, individual identity and judicial precedents. This research highlights the grey areas in the present Indian law which needs to be looked into when drafting a new privacy legislation