This is a rundown of last week’s news updates on Privacy:
Delhi HC: Plea for changing Aadhaar Number opposed by UIDAI
On September 9, 2021, a plea before the Hon’ble Delhi HC for issuance of a new Aadhaar number was opposed by the UIDAI. The petitioner asserted an apprehension of possibility of unlawful activities by way of exploitation of his identity, on account that his Aadhaar number was linked to an overseas entity which was not known to him. The Court herein differed from the petitioner’s submissions, on the grounds that an allotted Aadhaar number cannot be amended at the whims and fancies of an already existing user. The next hearing is posted for January 2022.
Rajasthan Government fines Vodafone ₹27 lakh for improper handling of customer data
Telecom company VIL (Vodafone Idea Ltd.) was fined ₹27 lakh by the Rajasthan Government under the Information Technology Act 2000, owing to the issuance of a SIM card of one customer to another, resulting in the latter withdrawing ₹68 lakh from the overdraft account of the former. ₹44 lakh was recovered from the accused and the victim had filed a complaint under the IT Act for the remaining amount. The adjudicating officer therein ordered VIL to pay the penalty amount due to the victim within a month failing which a 10% interest per annum would be levied.
Cyber Insurance norms issued by IRDAI for covering cyber fraud activities
New cyber insurance norms were issued by the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India for insurance policies against monetary losses incurred due to online fraud and cyber theft activities. The norms stipulate that such cyber insurance policies would cover identity theft, theft of funds, cyber stalking, phishing, email spoofing, and cyber extortion among other things, and would also provide a threshold limit for each of these risks. The new norms have tried to identify and address the gaps in protection to a great extent so as to make it customer-friendly.
Authored by Rohan Joshua Jacob (Associate) and Divya S (Intern).