Sep 24, 2018

Who violated MY Right?

Anil Vaidya

Two days ago I had my meal in a restaurant, I did not use my credit or debit card for payment, I did not fill in a feedback form. None of the activities that would reveal my identity. And to my surprise I got a message on my mobile to write a review for the restaurant. On the same day I got another message to review a ‘Sandwich vendor’ doing business by the roadside. I had not been to this vendor though I did pass him by on the road.

I was disturbed, where was my privacy? The Right pronounced by the Supreme Court “Right to Privacy is an integral part of Right to Life and Personal Liberty guaranteed in Article 21 of the Constitution,” the SC’s nine-judge bench ruled unanimously. And here my whereabouts are known to ‘I do not know whom’. The happenings of this type are occurring more and more frequently. I was not only disturbed but annoyed to the point of becoming angry.

I decided to investigate and I did. And holding the breath I realized I was myself responsible for allowing others to violate my right. I had allowed (quite unknowingly) a service provider to track my movement. It’s a simple setting in ‘Maps’. The setting was turned on whenever I wanted the get help from Maps for getting directions. More importantly it stayed that way even after I closed the Maps.

What it amounts to is ‘my ignorance on my own rights’ and inability to read the terms and conditions of the service provider.

However the bigger question is, are service providers are ethically right? Even though they may have covered the legal angle. The Citizens of India need to clearly to be told what they give up when they accept terms and conditions or when they use a particular service.

Shouldn’t our Lawmakers, our Legislators do something for the Citizens of India?

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