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Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things,
Cloud computing, Net Neutrality and Privacy Debate
By Dr. Roman Saini
Blockchain Technology
What is Blockchain Technology?● Blockchain technology was developed as the underlying technology
behind the cryptocurrency called bitcoin. ● The main cause behind the development of this technology is to resolve
the risk associated with the virtual currencies created before it.● The risk is that a digital asset such as a currency can be spent twice
namely ‘double spend’ problem.● The general solution to this problem is the introduction of some
‘intermediaries of trust’ like banks, other financial agencies etc. ● But the application of blockchain technology makes it possible to solve
this problem without introducing such intermediaries.
● In this way, it facilitates the transfer of such virtual currencies over the internet securely without any third party.
● Now, blockchain technology is not limited to this function only.
● Its regime has expanded to non-currency related areas and those belong to the use of blockchain technology as well.
● It is defined as, “A blockchain is a tamper-evident, shared digital ledger that records transactions in a public or private peer-to-peer network.”
● The ledger is distributed to all members in the network in a sequential chain of blocks and records permanently all the transactional history of peers in the network.
● Every record in the distributed ledger has a timestamp and unique cryptographic signature.
● It is named blockchain since all the confirmed and validated transaction blocks are linked and chained from the beginning of the chain to the most current block.
● The blockchain thus acts as a single source of truth, and members in a blockchain network can view only those transactions that are relevant to them.
● In simple terms, a blockchain is a decentralized, distributed database that is used to maintain a continuously growing list of records, called blocks. Each block contains a timestamp and a link to a previous block.
● It has been designed efficiently to ensure complete elimination of any possibility of the modification of the data.
● Blockchain technology is not a one-stop solution for all problems that arise out of transacting with data and assets.
● It cannot be implemented in all cases for digitisation.
● Its attributes identify use cases where this solution is viable and useful which needs to be tested on some required conditions.
A Block● Every block in a blockchain consists of the same components
○ A block number
○ The hash of the previous block (via this means the ’chain’ is being formed)
○ Nonce, a random number,
○ Data: the transactions
○ Timestamp with the time the block is created/ found
○ The hash of the current block
● The first block is the exception to this.
● It is the only block that is different from all the other blocks and has some unique features.
● It is the only block with no previous block, and thus no previous hash.
Advantages of Blockchain ● Its decentralized network prevents any single participant or group of
participants from controlling the underlying infrastructure or undermining the entire system.
● All participants in the network are equal for the governing protocols.
● They can be individuals, state actors, organizations, or a combination of all these types of participants.
● The transactions with the help of blockchain cannot be altered or reversed.
● Its modification is possible only when the change is agreed to by all members in the network in a subsequent transaction.
Cryptocurrency- Bitcoins● The first application of blockchain is cryptocurrency known as Bitcoin.
● Bitcoin is a decentralized network where anyone can transact directly without an intermediary with utmost security of assets or funds.
● In other words, it is a digital asset that is used like other assets in exchange for goods and services.
● It is easily portable, divisible, and irreversible.● It facilitates system efficiency and makes the provision of financial services
at a very low cost.
● And it also provides users with more power and freedom to transact their assets on the internet.
Benefits of Bitcoin● As a global currency, it can be sent to anyone, anywhere in the world
without worrying about cross border remittance fees.
● It can be kept safely in a non-custodial wallet (like Blockchain’s) which implies that no entity can steal or damage your possession on your assets.
● It is acceptable or inclusive globally. Thus, millions across the globe have been capable of transacting, saving and hedging their way to a better financial future.
Ethereum● Ethereum is a distributed public blockchain network that focuses on
running programming code of any decentralized application.
● In general terms, it is a platform for sharing information across the globe that cannot be manipulated or changed.
● Ether is a decentralized digital currency, also known as ETH.
● Ether is paving the way for a more intelligent financial platform.
How is it different from Bitcoin?
● It expands on bitcoin by harnessing blockchain capability for computer code.
● It has a wide range of potential applications such as voting, global supply chains, medical records and financial systems.
Types of Blockchain- Public and Private● Based on the participation of entities, the blockchain network can be
categorised as
○ Public network
○ Private network
● A public blockchain operates in a decentralised open environment where an unlimited number of people can join the network.
● The private network operates within the range defined by a controlling entity.
● A simple analogy is a difference between the internet and the intranet.
Future Impact of Blockchain Technology● It will have a similarly transformative impact on government service
delivery and functioning as the Internet.
● There are some countries like the USA, the UK, the UAE, Sweden, Estonia, Georgia etc., which have already taken the lead in pioneering blockchain applications in the government and public sector.
● Specially, Dubai has announced transition of all its government transactions to blockchain by the year of 2020.
● It is estimated that it could save nearly 100 million pages of documents generated in paperwork each year, 25.1 million hours of productive time and nearly 411 million km of travel time for its citizens.
● In India, its growth is slow but it has also started treading down the path of blockchain adoption. Many states in India are now talking about using blockchain technology.
● Andhra Pradesh, for example, announced a partnership with the Swedish firm Chroma Way to secure citizen data on a blockchain besides also exploring blockchain use in various other fields such as smart cities and transportation.
● The Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IRDBT), RBI, published a white paper on the application of blockchain technology in the banking and financial sectors in India.
● Many banks in India are investing in blockchain technology for money transfers, record keeping, and other back-end functions as a part of the digitisation wave.
● Recently, JP Morgan brought in seven top Indian lenders such as ICICI Bank and Axis Bank to its blockchain platform, IIN (Interbank Information Network).
● IIN is the first live blockchain service by JP Morgan and represents the largest number of banks to join a live application of blockchain technology.
● It will enable payments to reach beneficiaries faster with fewer steps in cross-border payments.
Areas where blockchain can have an impact
● Healthcare
● Education
● Public Service and Justice
● Agriculture
● Civil Registration
● Defence
● Governance
● Energy
Some early applications of Blockchain
● Banking services - For those who are not eligible for bank accounts in their country.
● Smarter web advertisements - To protect user anonymity.
● UN’s World Food Program - To eliminate costs related to the fair distribution of food and supplies to Syrian refugees.
● Applications of private blockchains - To replace databases.
Blockchain in Healthcare
● Blockchain technology is used in healthcare systems to provide better outcomes, better engagement between doctors and patients and cost savings.
● A prime example is the groundbreaking deployment of blockchain technology by Intermountain Healthcare, a Utah-based, not-for-profit system of 22 hospitals.
● Intermountain is using blockchain-based technology coupled with artificial intelligence to identify waste in its massive healthcare system, creating better outcomes for patients, and significant savings all around.
Blockchain for Agriculture
● Following are the advantages of using blockchain technology in the agriculture domain that will create a secure, efficient and transparent agri-supply chain:
1. Tracing the origin of the products- Creates Trust
● Monitor the supply chain of the food products.
● Consumers have confidence where the food comes from and how it was produced.
● Alleviates concerns about misrepresentation.
2. Produce tracking- Creates Transparency
● Transparent distributed ledgers provide data from farm to table.
● Reflects global market conditions in determining what the harvest is worth.
3. Fair pricing and decreased transaction fees- Empowers Farmers
● Enables farmers, manufacturers and retailers to negotiate fair prices.
● Eliminates middlemen and reduces transaction fees.
● Justifies premium for certain products.
4. Minimising human error - Improves Efficiency
● Minimising physical/financial losses from human errors.
● Shares information with farmers regarding deceased products in the supply chain.
● Minimises misuse and wastage of resources.
Blockchain for Social Benefits
● Following are the major advantages of using the blockchain technology for social benefits:
1. Transparency-
● Elimination of the role of a middleman or intermediate agencies.
● Enhances transparency in the benefit transfers.
● Ceases the leakages in benefit delivery.
2. Accountability-
● Better ease of availing services.
● Creates greater accountability on behalf of the government.
● Real time governance through connected network systems.
3. Adaptability-
● Ensures greater inclusion.
● Empowerment through digital financial ecosystem.
● Simple design enabling adoption.
● Adaptable to incorporate more services.
4. Accuracy and efficiency-
● Accurate identification and targeting of beneficiaries.
● Allows for efficiency gains in scheme delivery.
● Ensure effectiveness through timely implementation.
Blockchain for Smart Cities● Blockchain provides an opportunity to make the technology initiatives of a
smart city more secure, transparent, efficient and resilient in consonance with the objectives for the Smart Cities Mission, as outlined by the MoHUA.
● Following are the areas where the blockchain technology can have an impact in Smart city Mission:
1. Health
2. Education
3. Identity and culture
4. Employment and unemployment
5. Land use
6. Transportation
7. Housing and inclusiveness
8. Intelligent government services
9. Energy and waste management
10. Public safety
11. Citizen participation
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
What is AI?● “Artificial intelligence is the science and engineering of making
intelligent machines, especially intelligent computer programs.” – John McCarthy, father of AI.
● Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to the ability of a computer or a computer-enabled robotic system to process information and produce outcomes in a manner similar to the thought process of humans in learning, decision making and solving problems.
● By extension, the goal of AI systems is to tackle complex problems in ways similar to human logic and reasoning.
● More simply, AI refers to the ability of machines to perform cognitive tasks like thinking, perceiving, learning, problem solving and decision making that a human performs naturally.
● AI is an over-arching concept that encompasses multiple (often overlapping) disciplines.
● For example, Machine learning, Robotics, Natural language processing, Deep learning, Image analytics, cognitive computing, Audio/speech analytics, Social network analysis, Sensors/ Internet of things etc.
Features of AI
● Learns from experience
● Uses the learning to reason
● Recognises images
● Solves complex problems
● Understands language and its nuances
● Creates perspectives
Types of AIAI gets categorised in different ways as follows:
● Weak AI vs. Strong AI: Weak AI describes "simulated" thinking. That is, a system which appears to behave intelligently, but doesn't have any kind of consciousness about what it's doing.
● Narrow AI vs. General AI: Narrow AI describes an AI that is limited to a single task or a set number of tasks.
● Superintelligence: The term "superintelligence" is often used to refer to general and strong AI at the point at which it surpasses human intelligence, if it ever does.
Machine Learning
● A term, Machine Learning, is coined by Artur Samuel in 1959.
● It meant “the ability to learn without being explicitly programmed.”
● Machine Learning involves the use of algorithms to parse data and learn from it and making a determination or prediction as a result.
● Instead of hand coding software libraries with well defined specific instructions for a particular task, the machine gets “trained” using large amounts of data and algorithms, and in turn, gains the capability to perform specific tasks.
Deep Learning● Deep Learning is a technique for implementing Machine Learning.
● Deep Learning was inspired by the structure and function of the brain, specifically the interconnection of many neurons.
● Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) are algorithms that are based on the biological structure of the brain.
● In ANNs, there are ‘neurons’ which have discrete layers and connections to other “neurons”. Each layer picks out a specific feature to learn.
● It is this layering that gives deep learning its name, depth is created by using multiple layers as opposed to a single layer.
Some Area Where AI Can Create Value● AI holds the potential to address socio-economic concerns.● For example, stimulating economic growth, improving global health and
education and helping enhance the quality of life for humans.
● AI systems like chatbots, digital assistants and robots can carry out customer service operations.
● For example, informing about new products/services, handling feedback and concerns and responding with solutions.
● AI applications hold the potential to automate a number of repetitive tasks. For example, entering timesheet hours and routine communication such as emails and paperwork.
Vision Systems:
● These systems understand, interpret, and comprehend visual input on the computer.
● For example, a spying aeroplane takes photographs, which are used to figure out spatial information or map of the areas.
● Doctors use clinical expert systems to diagnose the patient.
● Police use computer software that can recognize the face of a criminal with the stored portrait made by the forensic artist.
Applications of AI
Speech Recognition:
● Some intelligent systems are capable of hearing and comprehending the language in terms of sentences and their meanings while a human talks to it.
● It can handle different accents, slang words, noise in the background, change in human’s noise due to cold, etc.
Handwriting Recognition:
● The handwriting recognition software reads the text written on paper by a pen or on screen by a stylus.
● It can recognize the shapes of the letters and convert it into editable text.
Intelligent Robots:
● Robots are able to perform the tasks given by a human.
● They have sensors to detect physical data from the real world such as light, heat, temperature, movement, sound, bump, and pressure.
● In addition, they are capable of learning from their mistakes and they can adapt to the new environment.
Gaming:
● AI plays a crucial role in strategic games such as chess, poker, tic-tac-toe, etc.
Applications of AI in Banking Sector● Banking sector is going to be one of the first adopters of AI. Banks are
exploring and implementing technology in various ways.
● Some common uses of AI in banks:
1. Security: Suspicious behaviour, logs analysis, and spurious emails can be tracked down to prevent and possibly predict security breaches.
2. Fraud Detection: Anomaly detection can be used to increase the accuracy of credit card fraud detection and anti-money laundering.
3. Customer Support and Helpdesk: Humanoid Chatbot interfaces can be used to increase efficiency and reduce the cost for customer interactions.
4. Risk Management: Tailored products can be offered to clients by looking at historical data, doing risk analysis, and eliminating human errors from hand-crafted models.
5. Digitization and automation in back-office processing: Capturing documents data using OCR (optical character recognition) and then using machine learning/AI to generate insights from the text data can greatly cut down back-office processing times.
6. Wealth management for masses: Personalized portfolios can be managed by Bot Advisors for clients by taking into account lifestyle, the appetite for risk, expected returns on investment, etc.
7. ATMs: Image/face recognition using real-time camera images and advanced AI techniques such as deep learning can be used at ATMs to detect and prevent frauds/crimes.
Challenges in use of AI in Banking Sectors
1. Right Data-
● Correct and verified data is the main requirement of AI, and any vulnerability arising from unverified information is a serious concern for businesses.
● For example, risks can arise from KYC compliance AI systems if the data sources are incorrect.
● Structured mechanisms for collecting, validating, standardizing, correlating, archiving and distributing AI relevant data needs to be addressed.
2. Multiple Languages-
● India is a land of diversity and language is one of the diversities as there are multiple languages spoken by a sizable population.
● Applications which use speech to text or text to speech rely on natural language processing (NLP) libraries and techniques.
● Banks can use the existing technologies to start with to support some major Indian languages. For example, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Bengali etc.
● But in order to effectively reach out to the wider population in each corner of India, much more progress is required on the NLP front.
3. Human Resource-
● The biggest challenge is the scarcity of trained human resources; the existing workforce is not familiar with the latest tools and applications.
● At present, there is unavailability of people with right data science skills.
● With only a small number of good data scientists available to do AI work, the industry needs to work with universities in India to develop skilled data scientists as well as develop in-house training programs to train employees on data science skills.
4. Employment Concern-
● It is assuming that the mass adoption of AI technology is a big threat to redundant employees in the banking sector.
Framework for promoting AI Research in IndiaThe Detailed Project Report of Inter-Ministerial National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical Systems (IM-ICPS) has suggested the following four-tier framework for promoting research focused on all aspects of technology life-cycle: research, technology deployment, translation and management:
1. ICON (International Centres of New Knowledge): focusing on the creation of new knowledge through basic research,
2. CROSS (Centre for Research On Sub-Systems): focusing on developing and integrating core technologies developed at ICON layer and any other sources.
3. CASTLE (Center for Advanced Studies, Translational research and Leadership): focusing on the development and deployment of application based research and
4. CETIT (Centre of Excellence in Technology Innovation and Transfer): focusing on commercialisation of technologies developed.
Internet of Things
What is IoT?
● IoT is a seamlessly connected network of embedded objects/devices, with identifiers, in which machine to machine (M2M) communication without any human intervention is possible using standard and interoperable communication protocols.
● The tablet, desktop and mobile are an integral part of IoT.
● According to McKinsey: “Sensors and actuators embedded in physical objects are linked through wired and wireless networks, often using the same Internet Protocol (IP) that connects the Internet.”
The Internet of Things builds on three major technology layers:
1. Hardware (including chips and sensors- which collect data including identification and addressing the sensor/device),
2. Communication (including mostly some form of wireless network- transmission of data to the decision-making server), and
3. Software (including data storage, analytics, and front end applications- which collects and analyzes the data for further consolidation).
Key Components of IoT
1. Artificial Intelligence (AI)
2. Connectivity
3. Sensors
4. Active engagement
5. Small Devices
Technologies used in IoT
1. NFC (near-field communication)
2. RFID (radio-frequency identification)
3. Low-Energy Wireless
4. Low-Energy Bluetooth
5. Radio Protocols
6. Long Term Evolution (LTE Advanced)
7. WiFi-Direct
Advantages of IoT Disadvantages of IoT
1. Effective Engagement of
Customer
2. Optimization of Technologies
3. Enhanced Data Collection
4. Effective Management of
Resources
1. Privacy of the user
2. Security of the user
3. Complexity of the system
4. Flexibility of the system
5. Issue of compliance
National Policy Framework For IoT
● Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has come out with a draft IoT Policy document.
● The Policy framework of the IoT Policy has been proposed to be implemented via a multi-pillar approach.
Vision:
● To develop connected, secure and smart IoT based system for our country’s Economy, Society, Environment and global needs.
Objectives:● To create an IoT industry in India of USD 15 billion by 2020. This will
also lead to an increase in the connected devices from around 200 million to over 2.7 billion by 2020. It has been assumed that India would have a share of 5-6% of the global IoT industry.
● To undertake capacity development (Human & Technology) for IoT specific skill sets for domestic and international markets.
● To undertake Research & development for all the assisting technologies.
● To develop IoT products specific to Indian needs in the domains of agriculture, health, water quality, natural disasters, transportation, security, automobile, supply chain management, smart cities, automated metering and monitoring of utilities, waste management, Oil & Gas) etc.
Pillars of IoT
● 5 vertical pillars
○ Demonstration Centres
○ Capacity Building & Incubation,
○ R&D and Innovation,
○ Incentives and Engagements
○ Human Resource Development
● 2 horizontal supports: Standards & Governance Structure.
Common areas where IoT can have impact
● Government services
● Defence system
● Industry and Engineering
● Infrastructure
● Home and Office
● Policing and patrolling
● Health and Medicine
● Marketing and Content Delivery
● Environment Monitoring
● Commercial Farming
● Rail and mass transit
● Personalized education
IoT for Smart Cities
● The various initiatives proposed to be taken under the Smart City concept and the Digital India Program to set up Digital Infrastructure in the country would help boost the IoT industry.
● IoT will be critical in making these cities smarter. Some of the key aspects of a smart city will be:
1. Smart parking
2. Intelligent transport system.
3. Tele-care
4. Woman Safety
5. Smart grids
6. Smart urban lighting
7. Waste management
8. Smart city maintenance
9. Digital-signage
10. Water Management
Committee on non-personal data
● This committee was recently formed under the leadership of Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan to protect community data where a community is identifiable.
● It was recommended by the Srikrishna Committee which presented the draft Personal Data Protection Bill to the government.
● According to the draft National E-Commerce Policy, community data includes “data collected by IoT devices installed in public spaces like traffic signals or automated entry gates”.
● The critical difference between community data and other large scale data collection lies in the degree of involvement of the larger community in building the body of data.
● It challenges the notion of individual control over personal data as individuals may not be aware of what their data can disclose when aggregated with billions of other data points.
Major challenges for IoT ● IoT is the most revolutionary technological advancement for human
comfort, luxury and development which led to the 4th Industrial Revolution.
● However, it has some challenges to be more secure, safe, reliable and efficient as:1. Identity protection
2. Security of devices
3. Liabilities of devices
4. Cyber attacks
Cloud Computing
What is Cloud Computing?
● Cloud computing is a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computing resources e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services.
● That can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction.
● It comprises of five essential characteristics, three service models, and four deployment models.
Five Essential Characteristics:
1. On-demand self service
2. Ubiquitous network access
3. Metered use
4. Elasticity
5. Resource pooling
Three Service Models:
1. Infrastructure as a service
2. Platform as a service
3. Software as a service
Four Deployment Models:
1. Public cloud
2. Private cloud
3. Community cloud
4. Hybrid cloud
● Cloud computing has the potential to transform the way IT is consumed and managed.
● And this is resulting in improved cost efficiencies, accelerated innovation, faster time to-market, and the ability to scale applications on demand.
● It provides an opportunity to improve government service delivery outcomes by eliminating redundancy, increasing agility and providing information and communication technology (ICT) services at a cheaper cost.
Major Threats for Cloud Service
● Cyber Attacks- Account, Service & Traffic Hijacking etc.
● Availability and Reliability of data
● Legality and validity of data
● Regulation of data
● Integrating Provider of services
● Customer Security
● Data Loss or Leakage
● Fraudulent use of Cloud Computing
● Failures in Provider Security
● Insecure Application Programming Interfaces
● Malicious Insiders
● Vulnerable Shared Technology
MeghRaj: Government of India Cloud● In order to utilise and harness the benefits of Cloud Computing,
Government of India has embarked upon a very ambitious and important initiative – “GI Cloud” which has been coined as “MeghRaj”.
● The ‘GI Cloud’ is the Government of India’s cloud computing environment that is used by government departments and agencies at the centre and states.
● In other words, it enables the government to leverage cloud computing for the effective delivery of e-services.
● DeitY is the administrative department responsible for the implementation and monitoring of the entire GI Cloud initiative.
● The GI Cloud is envisaged to be established initially on national and state data centre assets (adapted for the cloud through virtualisation) and connected through existing network infrastructure such as the State Wide Area Networks (SWANs), National Knowledge Network (NKN), as well as the internet.
● Based on demand assessment and taking into account security related considerations, the government may also engage the services of private cloud providers.
● Services provided by National Clouds would include infrastructure (compute, storage and network), platform, backup and recovery, infrastructure scaling of the State Clouds, application development, migration and hosting etc.
Potential Benefits of GI Cloud
● Anytime and anywhere availability
● Optimum utilisation of existing infrastructure
● Rapid deployment and reusability
● Manageability and maintainability
● Scalability and Cost reduction
● Efficient service delivery and agility
● Security and Reduced effort in managing technology
● Increased user mobility
Component of GI Cloud
GI Cloud is envisaged to include the following components:
1. Cloud computing platforms
2. Common platform to host and run applications - eGov App Store
3. GI Cloud Services Directory that will act as the single window or portal for GI Cloud service delivery
4. Integrated infrastructure acting as a backbone for delivering cloud services
5. Common set of protocols, guidelines and standards for GI Cloud
6. The institutional mechanism that consists of an Empowered Committee and Architecture Management Office.
7. Centre of Excellence for cloud computing for awareness building, best practices creation, providing advisory services to the departments on cloud adoption, showcasing the cloud technologies, international collaboration and research and development.
National Data Centers ● NIC Data Centres provide shared hosting, co-location and now Cloud
Services to the Government across India.
● Besides this, mini Data Centres are operational in all NIC State Centres to cater to the e-Governance requirements at the state level.
● These Data Centres provide round-the-clock operations and management of systems with onsite skilled personnel.
● A variety of critical e-Governance applications hosted at the Data Centres include over Government Websites/Portals, Exam Results Admission e-Counseling, Land Records, IVFRT, National and State Transport applications, CGHS, e-Procurement, e-Courts, eOffice, Election Results, Panchayat applications, live webcast services.
National Cloud● National Cloud is a state-of-the-art secured government Cloud set up by
NIC, providing services over the ICT Infrastructure spanning its National Data Centres.
● The Cloud Services available are Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS) and Storage as a Service (STaaS).
● NIC is providing Cloud services under the umbrella of MeghRaj.
Features of National Cloud● Multi-Location Cloud: Multiple cloud nodes are being set up across India
in National Data Centres of NIC. This will give Departments a choice of hosting their applications in any of the nodes.
● Self Service Portal: Users can deploy and manage their cloud resources with ease.
● Secure Cloud: Multi-layered secured infrastructure, setup in National Data Centres of NIC is being managed and monitored by highly skilled Cyber Security team of NIC.
● Secured Access: Users can access cloud solutions using their own devices from anywhere at any time over the secured network using VPN.
Cloud Services Available at National Cloud● Web Server
● Application Server
● Web and Application Server
● Database Server
● Development Server
● Basic Server
● Storage as a Server
● Software as a Server
Net Neutrality
What is Net Neutrality?
The word “Net Neutrality” has been coined by Professor Tim Wu and he describes it as:
● Network neutrality is best defined as a network design principle.
● The idea is that a maximally useful public information network aspires to treat all content, sites and platforms equally.
● This allows the network to carry every form of information and support every kind of application.
● In other words, “Net Neutrality” means ensuring that all end users are able to access the Internet content, applications and services of their choice at the same level of service quality, speed and price, with no priority or degradation based on the type of content, applications or services.
● Under this view, data is transmitted on a “best effort” basis, with limited exceptions.
● There is no standard definition of Net Neutrality.
● Net Neutrality is globally understood as a network principle of equal treatment of data packets moving across the IP networks.
● The concept has been used more broadly to describe the open and non-discriminatory access to the Internet.
Open Internet
● Open Internet is the idea that the full resources of the Internet and the means to operate on it are easily accessible to all individuals and businesses.
● Open Internet is not limited to network operations alone but includes Internet Governance, open standards and protocols, transparency, the absence of censorship, and low barriers to entry.
● Open Internet is expressed as an expectation of decentralised technological power equally exercisable across the user community and is seen by some as closely related to open-source software.
● Net Neutrality is often misunderstood as akin to the concept of Open Internet, which is a much larger all-encompassing description.
Digital Divide
● The term “Digital divide” describes a gap between those who have ready access to information and communication technologies and the skills to make use of those technologies and those who do not have such access or skills.
● Digital inequality transcends economic and social inequality in a world where ICT is at the centre of socio-economic progress.
● There are two main barriers that come in way of bridging the digital divide, i.e. lack of access to ICT infrastructure and lack of knowledge of its use.
● Low education levels, poor socio-economic advancement and lack of digital infrastructure and the high cost of such infrastructure act as barriers to universal digital access.
Net Neutrality Debate● The competitive conflict between application providers and network
operators has been witnessed world-wide and has given birth to the issue of Net Neutrality.
● The debate on Net Neutrality has emerged from the desire to preserve and protect the open nature of the public Internet arising from the apprehensions of emerging new business models that may impinge on the inherent characteristics of the Internet.
● Net Neutrality is a complex issue and has different nuances specific to a country depending on its social, political and economic conditions.
● Accordingly, each country adopts different responses to the issue.
● On the basis of measures undertaken on Net-Neutrality, nations can be divided into the following three categories:
1. Countries which have taken no specific measures as the existing mechanism is often considered sufficient to address the issue.
2. Countries that have adopted light-touch regulatory measures through transparency, lowering switching barriers, minimum Quality of Service (QoS) requirements.
3. Countries that have taken or propose to take specific legislative measures to enforce Net Neutrality principles (no blocking, no discrimination in the treatment of traffic etc), subject to reasonable traffic management and other exemptions.
● Chile was the first nation to enact Net Neutrality principles into law in 2010.
On the Net Neutrality continuum, there are two views on the opposite sides of the scale:
One view of the debate:
● The view held is that every user must have equal access, via the internet and, more generally, electronic communications networks (regardless of distribution platform) to all of the content, services and applications carried over these networks, regardless of who is supplying or using them, and in a transparent and non-discriminatory fashion.
Putting this view into practice comes up against a variety of constraints, such as:
1. Having to protect the networks from attacks, and from problems of traffic,
2. The need to install mechanisms to comply with legal obligations,
3. Maintaining an acceptable level of QoS (quality of service)for some real time services etc.
● Therefore, the network has to be managed with traffic management tools.
● The traffic management practices adopted may or may not be acceptable from the Net Neutrality point of view.
Other view of the debate:● Unlike an infinite resource, the bandwidth of the Net is limited. ● There are users who require a whole lot more bandwidth than, say,
someone sending emails. ● If someone is using Skype or YouTube, she needs a lot of bandwidth and that
too on priority without any significant delay, otherwise, the service quality suffers.
● It can be argued that she should pay a higher price because she is using more space and her traffic needs to be sent on priority.
● But Net Neutrality proponents say that neither she should be given priority, nor she should be charged higher and her traffic should also be treated in the same way as others on best effort basis.
Net Neutrality in India
● The Telecom Authority of India (TRAI) has released its recommendations on “Net Neutrality” in November 2017.
● In a vital decision, the Telecom Commission has approved the recommendations of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on net neutrality in July 2018.
● By endorsing steps that call for amendments to access services licences for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and Telecom Operators, the Commission has made it clear that any violation of net neutrality will be treated as a violation of the licence conditions.
● Along with, this approval with the fact that TRAI had barred telecom service providers from charging differential rates for data services (zero rating, for example), India will now have among the strongest net neutrality regulations.
● And it will help secure the rights of Internet users in the country.
● Therefore, the user is free to access any web location at the same paid-for speed without any discrimination by the ISP.
● But in contrast, in the U.S., the Federal Communications Commission repealed net neutrality regulations in June 2018 that had been put in place by the Barack Obama administration.
Privacy Debate
Data Privacy Concerns
Privacy of data depends on generation, collection and processing of large amounts of data on individual, entity and community behaviour. However, the current debate on data usage has two distinct aspects.
● Firstly, there are concerns that companies are harvesting significant amounts of consumer data and using it inappropriately to gain insights about consumers.
● Beyond compliance, companies can consider how to create awareness of how they use consumer information and the value they provide in return, which can build trust in their brand and services.
● Secondly, there are concerns that companies are amassing large data sets and thereby building an unfair competitive advantage.
● Datasets themselves have little intrinsic value without the ability to extract meaning from them.
● While those that have access to large datasets and by the nature of their business models have data network effects, which enables them, in turn, to build a first mover advantage when it comes to perfecting their algorithms and driving business value, this does not necessarily negatively impact the consumer.
Worldwide Approaches for Data Privacy/Protection
There are broadly three approaches to data protection exist in today‘s world.
1. In the US, the laissez-faire approach to regulating data handling by private entities while imposing stringent obligations on the state is based on its constitutional understanding of liberty as freedom from state control.a. Data protection is thus an obligation primarily on the state and
certain categories of data handlers who process data that are considered worthy of public law protection.
2. In Europe on the other hand, data protection norms are founded on the need to uphold individual dignity.
a. Central to dignity is the privacy of the individual by which the individual herself determines how her personal data is to be collected, shared or used with anyone, public or private.
b. The state is viewed as having a responsibility to protect such individual interest.
3. China, on the other hand, frames its law with the interests of the collective as the focus, based on its own privilege of the collective over the individual.
Indian ApproachThe conceptualisation of the state in the Constitution is based on two planks:
● First, the state is a facilitator of human progress. Consequently, it is commanded by the Constitution in Part IV (Directive Principles of State Policy) to serve the common good;
● Second, the state is prone to excess. Hence it is checked by effectuating both a vertical (federal structure) and horizontal (three organs of government) separation of powers, as well as by investing every individual with fundamental rights that can be enforced against the state.
● At the same time, the potential for discrimination, exclusion and harm is equally likely in a digital economy.
● The recent admission by Facebook that the data of 87 million users, including more than a lakh Indian users, was shared with Cambridge Analytica through a third-party application that extracted personal data of Facebook users
● The twin objectives of protecting personal data while unlocking the data economy (digital economy) have often been seen as conflicting with each other.
● However, each of them is motivated by distinct intermediate rationales — the former ensuring the protection of individual autonomy and consequent harm prevention and the latter seeking to create real choices for citizens.
● The right to privacy has been recently recognised as a fundamental right emerging primarily from Article 21 of the Constitution, in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India.
● The Supreme Court held that the right to privacy is a fundamental right flowing from the right to life and personal liberty as well as other fundamental rights securing individual liberty in the Constitution.
● In addition, individual dignity was also cited as a basis for the right. Hence, the sphere of privacy includes a right to protect one‘s identity.
● To make this right meaningful, it is the duty of the state to put in place a data protection framework which, while protecting citizens from dangers to informational privacy originating from state and non-state actors, serves the common good.
Initiative for Data Privacy in India● Recognizing the importance of data protection and keeping personal data of
citizens secure and protected, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India constituted a Committee of Experts on a Data Protection Framework for India.
● It was constituted under the Chairmanship of Justice B N Srikrishna, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India in August 2017.
● The Committee was mandated mainly to examine issues related to data protection, recommend methods to address them, and draft a data protection Bill.
● The Committee submitted its report and draft Bill to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology on July 27, 2018.
B N Krishna Committee Report
What is personal data?
● It defined personal data to include data from which an individual may be identified or identifiable, either directly or indirectly.
● The Committee has made distinguish tenets for personal data protection from the protection of sensitive personal data since its processing could result in greater harm to the individual’s identity and security.
● Sensitive personal data is related to intimate matters where there is a higher expectation of privacy required.
The Committee has defined the following as sensitive personal data: 1. Passwords
2. Financial data
3. Health data
4. Caste or tribe
5. Sex life and sexual orientation
6. Biometric and genetic data
7. Official identifiers which would include government issued identity cards
8. Transgender status or intersex status;
9. Religious or political beliefs or affiliations
Jurisdiction of Data of Indian Citizens
India‘s interests mean that the following ought to be putative bases for exercising jurisdiction in a data protection law:
● All personal data of persons present in India that is processed must be protected. This can be ensured by exercising jurisdiction over personal data which is processed in India.
● If personal data is collected, disclosed, shared or otherwise processed in India, the law will apply to the processing of such personal data irrespective of the following facts: where the fiduciary is incorporated; where the processing or any subsequent processing takes place.
● Personal data processed by Indian companies must be protected, irrespective of where it is actually processed. This is based on the principle of nationality as the company is located/incorporated within one‘s jurisdiction.
● Personal data processed in India by foreign entities must be protected. Similar to the ground above, any processing in India is within the scope of Indian law on the basis of territoriality, irrespective of the nationality of the entity processing it.
● The Data Protection Bill provides for the establishment of a Data Protection Authority. The Authority is empowered to: 1. Take steps to protect the interests of individuals2. Prevent the misuse of personal data3. Ensure compliance with the Bill
● It will consist of a chairperson and six members, with knowledge of at least 10 years in the field of data protection and information technology.
● Orders of the Authority can be appealed to an Appellate Tribunal established by the central government and appeals from the Tribunal will go to the Supreme Court.
Data Protection Authority
Exemption of Certain Data
The Bill provides exemptions from compliance with its provisions, for certain reasons including:
● State security,
● Prevention, investigation, or prosecution of any offence, or
● Personal, domestic, or journalistic purposes.
The Right to be Forgotten
● The right to be forgotten refers to the ability of individuals to limit, de-link, delete, or correct the disclosure of personal information on the internet that is misleading, embarrassing, irrelevant, or anachronistic.
● Such disclosure, may or may not be a consequence of unlawful processing by the data fiduciary.
● Therefore, if she believes certain processing to have unfairly disclosed personal data, then she should be able to have a remedy against such disclosure.
● The right to be forgotten therefore provides a data principal with the right against the disclosure of her data when the processing of her personal data has become unlawful or unwanted.
Thank You!
