The word "privacy" is inherently nuanced, as it involves different meanings based on the situation. To some, privacy could be covering up personal information, like one's educational history or personal relationships. To others, privacy starts before birth and continues until death, encompassing a broad array of personal boundaries. Though it is important, privacy cannot be total and frequently involves restrictions.

Laws have been enacted by governments to protect people's privacy, yet these exceptions are not without provisions, particularly against public interest or state security. With the computer age and all data being digitalized and transacted online these days, privacy has become all the more essential. Data should be controlled in proportion to its importance, for people's privacy is at large risk. Privacy is a basic human right in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and several other international agreements.

It forms the basis for human dignity and reinforces other key values, including freedom of speech and association. In today's digital age, privacy has emerged as one of the most essential human rights concerns since it has a direct bearing on how people interact with and move around the world. The contemporary global norm regarding privacy protection was set in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which protected territorial and communication privacy.

Article 12 of the Declaration claims that "no one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with their privacy, family, home, or correspondence," reinforcing the protection of individuals against unreasonable intrusion. In the same way, most international human rights covenants such as the ICCPR, the UN Convention on Migrant Workers, and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child cite privacy as a basic right.

The Right to Privacy in India The right to privacy is an essential component of the exercise of the right to free speech and expression because it guarantees the free exchange of information, views, and ideas. The right to privacy is guaranteed in international human rights instruments such as the UDHR and ICCPR. In India, the right to privacy has several dimensions, such as the right over one's own personal information and the new idea of the "right to be forgotten," whereby a person has the right to delete his/her data from websites.

It is the duty of the government to ensure privacy, according to Locke's Social Contract Theory principles. The B.N. Srikrishna Committee, formed to solve issues of data protection, had a central role in the evolution of India's privacy strategy. The recommendations put forward by the committee gave primary importance to giving informed, specific, and transparent consent prior to processing personal data. It also set out situations under which data processing could take place without consent, including emergencies, state activities, legal requirements, or contractual agreements.

The committee suggested fines for non-compliance with these recommendations, such as up to ₹5 crore or 2% of worldwide turnover for data protection offences. India's privacy.  framework consists of the Information Technology Act, 2000, and the Census Act, 1948, which regulate data protection and information sharing.

Nevertheless, the legal environment of the country is not adequately provided with provisions for the right to erasure, in contrast to the European Union's Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018. While the Indian Constitution does not specifically mention the term "right to privacy," the judiciary has read it as an extension of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, which protects the right to life and personal liberty.

The Supreme Court of India has played a crucial role in expanding the scope of privacy rights. In the landmark case Maneka Gandhi v. Union of India [1], the Court International Journal of Law www.lawjournals.org 208 broadened the interpretation of Article 21 to include various rights essential to personal liberty.

The judgment of Justice P.N. Bhagwati highlighted the broad amplitude of personal liberty under Article 21, covering a variety of rights, some of which are additionally safeguarded by Article 19. The Court also laid down a triple test of legislation interfering with personal liberty: they have to stipulate a procedure, pass the test of relevant fundamental rights under Article 19, and come under judicial scrutiny under Article 14, which upholds equality before the law. Privacy law has been developed in India through judicial activism, tackling problems of protection against unreasonable search and seizure, regulation of personal information, and freedom from observation .

Technology's Impact on Privacy

In today's age of rapid technical progress, the interplay between technology and personal privacy has undergone a sea change. Conventional notions of privacy in the information age have been transformed as a consequence of the spread of data-driven technologies, data-connected devices, and continuous online presence. the complex relationship that exists between technology and privacy, highlighting the far- touching on the impacts that technological progress has had on human liberty and data security.

The clash that ensues when technology and individual privacy come into conflict is not something new; on the contrary, its roots can be traced back as far as the start of the information era. The advent of the internet, the growth of social networking, and the general popularity of smart devices have all led to an unprecedented state of interconnectedness and information sharing.

As people are moving through this networked world and their information becomes precious assets, authority, certification, and the right to privacy are all questioned. The effect of technology on individuals' capacity to keep their privacy is complex and can be seen in numerous different aspects of contemporary life. Individuals now have greater opportunities for self-expression through the arts, knowledge exchange, and time saving due to technological progress, one of the positive impacts of such progress.

Individuals are now capable of communicating immediately with loved ones living on other continents, having immediate access to extensive volumes of information, and do business across the globe with the help of the internet, which has radically transformed the means through which human beings engage with the world. Notwithstanding that technology has many positive advantages, it has also brought about various problematic new problems which need more study.

The ubiquity of digital technologies has enabled one gather, process, and distribute information on a scale never seen before. Web companies gather information about users, such as where they are and where they have been online, to present them with personalised information and advertising.

Concern has been expressed about the collection, storage, and use of people's personally identifiable information as a consequence of individuals' involvement in digital ecosystems. The convergence of technology and privacy is having an impact on more than just people's individual preferences; it is also having an effect on social considerations.

The convergence of surveillance tools, artificial intelligence, and analytics of large amounts of big data has made it possible to construct highly sophisticated models for profiling and forecasting. Concerns about espionage, algorithmic

Challenges in the Digital Privacy Landscape

The widespread application of digital technology has brought about a new age of connectedness and convenience, yet it has also ushered in a set of issues that have implications within the realm of online privacy. While this new age has created a new age, it has also created a set of challenges.

More and more people are using online platforms, intelligent devices, and information-based services, a host of new concerns have arisen. These concerns vary from data breaches to algorithmic discrimination. The challenging issues now confront individuals, businesses, and governments in the area of internet privacy protection.

• Data Breaches and Information Security: Data breaches, where sensitive data is accessed without permission and used in nefarious manners, have grown at a fast pace in the digital age. Information security is the activity of keeping information from unauthorised access and use. New concerns have been raised about the revelation of personal information and threats of identity theft, financial fraud, and privacy invasion due to data breaches that have taken place at high-profile organisations, government departments, and social networking sites.
   
• Algorithmic Surveillance and Decision-Making: Due to the ubiquitous use of surveillance technologies, which are employed by both public and private institutions, there have been concerns regarding the violation of people's right to privacy. Moreover, numerous facets of individuals' lives, such as job opportunities and credit scores, are affected by algorithmic decision-making which is driven by AI. These algorithms, without proper control and explanation, can be used to violate the privacy of individuals and reinforce existing biases even more.
   
• Informed Consent and User Control: Personal data of people can be obtained and exchanged by online services without their awareness or consent, which can endanger their right to privacy. Users' capability to provide informed consent is hampered when privacy policies become unnecessarily complex, when terms of service are obscure, and when data-sharing practices are too vague. This policy's opacity complicates users' capacity to invoke their right to be informed about what is done to their data.
   
• Global Data Flow and Jurisdictional Challenges: Due to its global nature, the internet complicates it greatly to enforce and manage privacy policies. When information crosses over national borders, it can potentially create problems relating to the privacy legislation and legal framework of each jurisdiction. When attempting to meet the standards of several diverse jurisdictions at the same time while safeguarding individuals' rights, one faces an important number of difficulties.
   
• Data-Sharing Practices Between Platforms and Third Parties: Data-sharing practices between digital platforms and third parties are prevalent, which allows the creation of elaborate profiles of individual users and their commercial exploitation. If these profiles are used for intrusive purposes such as targeted advertising or to manage user behavior, then the privacy right of users' information might be infringed.
   
• Privacy of Children: The new age offers new challenges for children's privacy, particularly to safeguard the individual information of children.

The Legal Structure Regarding the Right to Privacy

The Act forcefully gives data principals a say on personal data, making its storage and use against express permission except for several permitted situations when the new concept of "deemed consent" is invoked." Importantly though, the "right to be forgotten" is not explicitly defined within the Act as a freestanding provision even if Article 2111 does acknowledge it as a fundamental component within the jurisdiction of the "Right to Privacy."

"By codifying the duties of organizations that have been designated as "data fiduciaries," which are responsible for gathering, holding, and utilizing digital personal data, the Act once again illustrates its focus on accountable data handling.

Thus, the "Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023" enhances the "right to privacy" which is enshrined under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution by promoting transparency, justice, and self-determination over personal data. One of the basic elements of individual independence, privacy is something that is extremely important to humans. It is believed to be where the legal concept of privacy emerged that a paper written in 1890 was.

Privacy law jurisprudence shows a piecemeal history. The field of personal information is the essential element of privacy, the central interest that must be legally safeguarded. "Under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and other human rights conventions, privacy is an inherent human right. Any citizen is entitled to have a substantial level of control over their data.".

Indian Jurisprudence

"No individual shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except by procedure established by law," reads Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. On August 24, 2017, the Indian Supreme Court delivered a judgment holding the view that Part III of the Indian Constitution assures the right to privacy as a fundamental right. There will be extensive implications from this decision on the legislations and rules.

"According to Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, new regulations will now be tested by the same criteria as legislation that violates individual freedom. The right to privacy is now well within reach; what remains uncommon are its boundaries and limits. There is little regulation in India for privacy and data protection. Essentially, the laws and regulations existing are sectoral.". This meant that the police were upholding the legal process and not violating the right to privacy of the man as protected under Article 21 of the Constitution."

15 Police house visits to "habitual criminals" or those prone to become so were declared illegal in Kharak Singh v. State of Uttar Pradesh (1962). Our contemporary world, characterized by continuous developments in electrical and technological systems, provides us with a number of conveniences that simplify life. While there are arguments that privacy measures have been enhanced, each new update also raises the risks to individuals' privacy.

Conclusion
From the above, it is evident that an all-encompassing law governing the collection and exchange of personal data is urgently required. All-encompassing regulations that govern the processing of private information that is not private information or information that is by nature sensitive do not exist. After its takeover by Facebook Inc., WhatsApp Inc. altered its privacy policies.

Users now know that Facebook will make use of their account information to enhance Facebook ads and product experiences. They argued that WhatsApp users' essential rights under Article 21 of the Constitution were infringed by stripping their information's privacy and sharing it with Facebook. The Delhi High Court made a ruling on the issue, instructing that if users choose to completely remove their WhatsApp account, WhatsApp will delete all user data from servers and cease to share user data with Facebook.

If users choose to stick with WhatsApp, they will not be informed about their present information, data, or details until September 25, 2016. So, the right of privacy and protection of that right are very much important in the intrusive information technology age that we are living in nowadays. As data protection is not entirely regulated by a single act in India, other legislation acts have to be quoted in order to get the corresponding legal provisions.

India's recognition of the right to privacy has significantly influenced data protection regulations. The right to privacy emphasizes the importance of individual liberty, consent, and control over personal data. Since every individual has the right to privacy, comprehensive data protection structures have been established to protect personal information from unauthorized access, misuse, and abuse.