Why A Cyberterrorism Focused ‘Data Governance Policy’ Would Win in India Where a “Draft National Encryption Policy” Could Not

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Abstract

Data Governance is a major area of concern globally. It evokes sharp reactions and divides nation along sharp fault lines. The stakes are high for businesses, for citizens and governments, all alike. A few days ago, the Indian government published its Draft National Encryption Policy. The badly written draft met with stiff public and political resistance. The emergent public resistance driven by lack of conceptual knowledge except in very informed circles leading to fear of big government snooping on citizens and the spiralling media frenzy led the government to withdraw the well-intentioned, albeit technically flawed, draft. Hereunder, I discuss the flaws of the policy that led to its early demise, the focus that the draft should have had, the underlying exigent national security imperatives, trade-off between the sovereignty of India and the individual freedom of Indians and the policy options ahead of the government to device a cogent data governance policy in India.