An analysis of the JPCs draft of the data protection bill has some welcome changes - the amendments to children’s data and the introduction of Section 62 that allows complaints to be filed. It also has some misguided changes such as the introduction of NGOs in the definitions. It also has changes that will have a significant impact such as the amendments to Section 35 and 36 on exemptions to law enforcement. Finally it introduces some new concepts that are problematic such as the requirement that data protection officers in companies need to be senior officials and the inclusion of non-personal data within the ambit of the law.

There is a growing recognition of the fact that we can use technology tools to make our regulations smarter. There are 2 categories of tools to do this. The first gives users more control over what can be done with their data by placing data in pods and only allowing them to be accessed in accordance with the privacy management protocols. The second unlocks data silos allowing data to move between them with the consent of the user. While these tools seem contradictory they operate at opposite ends of the data spectrum can can be combined to augment statutory frameworks.

Cryptocurrency regulation will have to address a number of issues. To address the fact that cryptocurrencies provide anonymity, regulations can ensure that crypto exchanges conduct customer verification checks and be trained on anti-money laundering. The exchanges themselves can be required to be registered in India to fall within the ambit of Indian law. To address taxation concerns, our laws can be amended to base the tax payable on the fair market value of cryptocurrency as on the date of payment or receipt. Any offers of cryptocurrency can be required to comply with disclosure requirements for investor protection. All this can be achieved by amending existing laws and does not need a new regulation.

Bacteriophages target specific bacterial cells and destroy them leaving all other cells unharmed. These organisms have been used for phage therapy - a treatment for disease that involves administering the specific bacteriophage corresponding to a given bacterial infection in order to treat it. Now that the continuous use of broad spectrum antibiotics has resulted in superbugs with high levels of antibiotic resistance, phage therapy might be the precision medicine solution that we need. This will require us to overhaul our current thinking about pharmaceuticals and adopt more localised manufacture.

The fictional science of psychohistory is predicated on the proposition that while human behaviour is erratic in isolation, when aggregated to population scale it becomes predictable. Today we use big data to predict customer behaviour and third wave economics uses real-time data to solve real world problems. In time this will allow us to understand the steps we need to take to shape desirable outcomes.

When there were limited uses to which data could be put, it was easy to evaluate the harms that could result from providing consent. Things are much more complex today so data protection regulations have tried to improve the quality of consent. This has resulted in the transparency paradox. If we can adopt consent templates we can give users appropriate autonomy.

Every evolution of communications technology from the printing press to the telegraph to telephones and eventually the internet has placed new and different stresses on personal privacy. As much as we welcome these technologies when launched, in time we realise the effect that they can have on personal privacy. The whole point of communicating is to violate your privacy in a controlled way. But if we do not have information about all the ways in which a given communication can affect your privacy you cannot really exercise effective control over it.

The South African patent office has granted a patent to an artificial intelligence program for an invention it has made. India granted a copyright to an AI application along similar lines. It is not clear how an artificial intelligence can exercise the IP granted by prosecuting a breach or negotiating commercial arrangements for its license. All these actions will have to be taken by humans on behalf of the AI in which case what is the point in calling the algorithm an inventor.

Identity is a prerequisite for the provision of services and efficient identity systems are necessary to scale digital public infrastructure. We can build back trust in identity systems through encryption and tokenisation of identity information by using privacy preserving technologies like zero knowledge proofs so that we can still establish eligibility for a service without exposing identity information.

The reason why email is the most widely used messaging protocol is because it uses an open interoperable protocol that allows messages to be exchanged freely regardless of the underlying operating system. If we are to take advantage of the benefits of data we need to enable open interoperable protocols that will break down the silos of our digital infrastructure.