Doctoral Researcher Erica Basu Presents on Privacy and Data Protection in India

Ms. Erica Basu presents at the inaugural TriSchool PhD Research Conference at American University

NetGov Lab Doctoral Researcher, Erica Diya Basu, presented her work on privacy and data protection in India at the inaugural TriSchool PhD Research Conference hosted on Friday, February 22, by American University’s School of Communication, School of International Service, and the School of Public Affairs. 

Ms. Basu, a PhD candidate at the School of Communication, discussed the participation of Indian civil society organizations (CSOs) in national policy discussions on privacy. She highlighted the challenges of making privacy a priority for the public amid more existential crises like poverty and food insecurity. She described CSOs initiatives to raise public awareness despite linguistic and cultural challenges. With Aadhaar (India’s digital identity technology) and the Indian Supreme Court’s ruling protecting the fundamental right to privacy forming the backdrop of the current public debate on privacy in India, she emphasized the need for a cohesive communication strategy by CSOs to achieve these objectives.