Public Conference on Consumer Privacy at IIC Delhi; July 7th, 2012

Public Conference on Consumer Privacy

Venue: Indian International Centre, New Delhi

Saturday, July 7th, 2012, from 9:00 am - 5:00pm

On behalf of Privacy India, and in partnership with the Centre for Internet & Society, IDRC, Society in Action Group and Privacy International, we would like to invite you to a public conference focused on discussing the challenges and concerns to consumer privacy in India.
According to the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, a consumer is a broad label for any person who buys any goods or services for consideration with the intent of using them for a non-commercial purpose. Certain services that consumers use may, by their very nature, put an extraordinary amount of sensitive personal information into the hands of vendors.
Consumer privacy is concerned with accuracy of how a consumers information is collected and used. Because a consumers relationship with another entity is based on an exchange along consented terms, a breach in consumer privacy can be constituted as an action that was not agreed to. In the age of data collection – a breach in privacy occurs when information is used in different ways than was intended. Consumer privacy in India is determined at the sectoral level, and differs depending on the services that is provided for.
As corporations sell data banks, ISP's expose consumer habits, or ones personal information falls in the wrong hands – the consequences are far reaching, and can result in spamming, unwanted marketing, theft, or the violation can impact an individual's ability to buy a home, potential employment opportunities, or gain access to credit.
In India, the right to privacy has been a neglected area of study and engagement. Although sectoral legislation deals with privacy issues, India does not as yet have a horizontal legislation that deals comprehensively with privacy across all contexts. The absence of a minimum guarantee of privacy is felt most heavily by marginalized communities, including HIV patients, children, women, sexuality minorities, prisoners, etc. - people who most need to know that sensitive information is protected.
Since June 2010, Privacy India in collaboration with Privacy International, based in London, has been conducting workshops and engaging in public awareness. Participants include policy makers, researchers, sectoral experts, NGOs, and the public to discuss and deliberate different questions of privacy, its intersections and its implications with our everyday life. The discussions have ranged from topics of online privacy to minority rights and privacy and e-Governance initiatives privacy. The workshops have been organized in different cities - Bangalore, Guwahati, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Goa, etc.
Please confirm your participation to Ms. Natasha Vaz at Natasha@cis-india.org.

RSVP
Natasha Vaz
Centre for Internet & Society
No. 194, 2nd 'C' Cross, Domlur 2nd Stage Bangalore 560071
Telefax: (+91)-080-25350955
Email: Natasha@cis-india.org

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